Tomorrow
by Nivek01
Summary: AU. Four-part. Sawada Tsunayoshi and Rokudo Nagi. Two teenagers filled with apathy, tired of looking to their future and seeing darkness. But when they are caught up in a horrible accident, a chance to see the other's worth blooms. It is our smallest actions that spur people the greatest distance, and these two are about to find out how much can be changed by a simple meeting.
1. Yesterday

**For Morgana, and anyone else that may need it.**

* * *

_**Yup, this one is for you. I sat still for nearly an hour after reading your PM. I tried to think of a response, but every time I did, this story popped into mind. And a one shot turned into a two shot turned into this. I hope you like it, and I feel the need to apologize - You've inspired me, and I don't know how that's going to make you feel. But regardless, read on.**_

* * *

The early morning breeze blew across the land, shaking trees and carrying birds overhead, helping them sing their sharp tunes as they looked for the days meal. Circling and circling the bushes and trees of the world, these birds passed over a large town, flying in between power lines and along walls, underneath overpasses and over rooftops. Heading away from the noise of the main city, these hunters found themselves near a quieter area, in the shadow of a large mansion.

On the top floor of that mansion, through the farthest window to the right, a young girl with flowing purple hair could be seen at a mahogany desk. Her head was bent over a small notebook, her form obscuring its' contents from all outside view. At the top of the page was an elaborate sketch of a tomb, with a skull and crossbones over it, a scythe sticking out of the ground to mark its' location. Underneath the picture, in sharp handwriting, she scrawled.

_Yesterday I dreamed my gravestone would be in the shape of a shinigami's weapon. I liked the way it looked, implying I'd died of some brutal death - maybe a murder or a rape? - but it wasn't lifelike enough for me. I would have preferred if it had been more jagged and twisted, looking dangerous; not just some pole sticking up from the ground with a blade growing out of it. It wasn't even symmetrical. _

Leaning back and looking at what she'd put down, purple eye running over the lines again and again and again, she scribbled it all out, writing a simpler sentence underneath. When she was done, she blew softly on the ink to dry it, before shutting the book, opening it again from the front and flipping through every page she'd written in. Pictures of graves flew by at amazing speeds, the same phrase underneath each one. 'Yesterday I dreamed...'

When she found the page she'd just finished, she nodded to herself in satisfaction, putting a small ribbon to mark her place before closing the book up and locking it away in a drawer, standing up and leaving her room, the last thing she wrote floating in her mind.

_Yesterday I dreamed I died a bloody death. I wonder if it will happen today, and free me from my misery?_

* * *

It was the sound of tires squealing that started everything.

The warm summer breeze blew down the suburban street, billowing sheets hung out to dry and playfully whistling among the homes. Picking up a bit of loose dirt, the wind carried it from the ground and right into the eyes of a walking pedestrian. Coughing and grimacing, the pedestrian let his eyes water until they cleaned themselves, wiping his face and sighing dejectedly.

Sawada Tsunayoshi, failing high school student, was walking down the sidewalk on his way home. He'd finally been freed from the prison of summer remedial lessons for the day, and was looking forward to getting home where he could relax and play video games with his two younger brothers.

The seventeen year old was not what some called 'enthusiastic'. He never put forth effort when it came to studying or exercise, causing him to fail every test and always be last in gym class. He never built up the will to date his middle school crush, even after following her to high school and watching her bounce from bad boyfriend to bad boyfriend. He never looked for anything to do when he wasn't in school and didn't participate in any clubs, so he had no idea what he was going to do when he graduated - if he graduated - from Namimori High. Even his body reflected his personality; Tsuna had gone through his growth spurts and was still a head shorter then all his other male friends, had no muscle on his body, and sported an uncut mop of hair sticking nearly straight up out of his head. And with no ambition, he didn't feel the drive to make things better. In fact, Tsuna was a firm believer in the first law of gambling: only bet on a sure thing. And Tsuna knew that the only sure thing in life was what you'd already experienced, so why change?

It had served him well, in a strange way. His paranoia and outright fear of possible danger kept him under the radar of bullies and disciplinarians. His at times pathetic attempts to get the attention of his crush had earned him at least a cursory acquaintance with her and her friends. Tsuna had even earned the pity of his father's boss, and was guaranteed a job at the company the old man owned. His life was comfortable and safe.

Fate, on the other hand, was not so kind to the people around him that day.

Tsuna meandered past a small park a few blocks away from his home. From one of the rose bushes next to the sidewalk, the head of a cat poked out.

He skipped a little in fright, almost making a surprised squeak under his breath. But the stray was gone as fast as it had come, the bush shaking momentarily then standing still, showing the small feline had left Tsuna's immediate vicinity.

His heart beating faster then it had all day, the high schooler shook his head. "Damn cats." he muttered. The park was beautiful, but not that popular. For whatever reason, stray cats loved the place, hanging in the tree branches and digging in the flowerbeds. They scared little kids and repulsed older adults, so no one liked visiting the area. Tsuna only knew about it because he'd walked past it hundreds of times on his way from and to home.

Home - the place Tsuna really wanted to be right now. He attempted to increase his speed and get away from the park, but took no more then four steps when he received yet another shock.

"No, don't go that way!" A soft voice called out, hidden by a tree in the middle of the park.

This time Tsuna did give a little yelp, spinning on his heel to find the phantom that was whispering to him. He saw another cat dart across the park, and wondered for a moment if he had found the thing that spoke to him. But just as he had the thought, a young girl followed the cat, bent over slightly with her arms reaching out, like she was trying to grab it. Purple hair flew out behind her.

Tsuna shook his head. _Purple hair..._ "Kids these days."

He turned again, slightly disgusted at himself for being afraid of nothing and dead set on going home. A little voice in the back of his head whispered that _this kind of thing always happens in threes..._

* * *

The purple haired girl played softly in the grass with the only things that really entertained her - the cats that called this park home. She'd tripped over one of them months ago, quite literally stumbling into their lives. Their tsundere aloofness had drawn her to them, and ever since then she'd come back, sometimes with food, and other times with toys, to pull a small amount of amusement out of the day before her mother demanded she return to the mansion.

Oftentimes she would pull long grass out of the ground and wiggle it in front of any cat that approached her, smiling slightly when they would bat at it. She had been doing it with a brown tabby she'd nicknamed 'Ken', after one of her brother's friends. Ken the cat had about the same temperament as Ken the human, so she thought the name fit.

Ken batted at the grass like a boxer, swiping low then high. Chrome was using all her wrist strength just to make sure he couldn't catch it. Suddenly, his ears perked up, and he looked at the sidewalk that was hidden by bushes. Letting the grass go, Chrome shook her head.

Anytime someone walked down that path, Ken would repeat the same pattern. He'd run into the bushes, poke his head out, get a good look at who was coming, and then...

With a mighty fling and a low meow, Ken flew out of the bushes, right past Chrome. She stood, brushing off the back of her one piece.

_He shouldn't keep doing that if everyone that walks that way scares him so._

Watching Ken run, she noticed immediately that he was heading for the edge of the park. On the other side lay a roadway that was often used by cars that wanted to avoid traffic by cutting through the residential area, usually above the speed limit. If Ken tried to cross that stretch, he could be in serious danger.

Taking off after him, she called "No, don't go that way!" as if somehow Ken would understand what she was saying. She ran after him as fast as she could, bent over to pick him up. But she couldn't gain on him - she didn't have a powerful body as it was, and Ken had four legs.

She followed him with abandon, as they quickly left the shaded center of the park, passing by bushes and small trees. Even as they left the park and stepped onto the street, the girl continued her pursuit. If she'd been more aware of her surroundings, she may have stopped at the sidewalk, realizing that Ken would cross the road fine. If she'd been thinking through her actions, she may have stopped to wonder why the cat suddenly tried to speed up when it hit the roadway. But instead she concentrated on trying to grab the cat.

The last thing she heard was the revving of a motor.

* * *

Looking back on that day, Tsuna didn't know what it was. Maybe he smelled fumes or burning rubber. Maybe he heard an engine humming. Maybe, as he swiveled his head after seeing the girl, he caught a glint of silver. Maybe he was just psychic - his friends seemed to think as much. But whether it was one or all of those reasons, or something completely different, Tsuna never knew. He just stopped in his tracks and stared in the direction his suddenly far away home was as dread spread down his spine.

Then _that_ _noise_ shattered the idyllic scene. The horrible ripping of rubber as breaks were slammed against tires shot through him, silencing all other sound. Tsuna easily heard the dull yet resounding _thump_ that followed, right before the car shifted gears and sped away.

The park spun through his vision as his head swiveled back to where he had last seen the cat. His bag hitting the concrete sidewalk was as faraway a noise as the thorny roses tearing at his pantlegs. The fluid motion of raising his arm and pushing away obscuring branches, sliding under others was done completely on instinct, the mind unaware of the body protecting itself. His vision narrowed into a tunnel, a spotlight following the tire tread marks back along their path, his eyes widening as the black marks mingled with red, a small grin tugging at his lips as he finally found the disturbing subject of this worldly painting. And the small voice in the back of his head cackled that he'd been fooled, _there was no way human arms could bend that way_.

For every two beats of his heart, he took three steps, and by the time he finished exhaling, the toes of his outdoor shoes were above the edge of the pavement, hovering centimeters above the growing pool of viscous fluid.

Scavenger hunt over. He'd found the cat...and the girl.

His vision attempted to telescope towards what was left of her head. That purple hair that had briefly flown through the air was matted down, clumped together and darkened to a black - _he knew it was dyed_ - wrapped over her face the way a coroner would cover the face of a body after an autopsy. He wondered if she even had a face anymore.

From somewhere that he should have seen but his horrified mind wouldn't comprehend, the cat gave a sudden and final caterwaul of pain, and Tsuna was shocked back to his senses.

"_What is your emergency?"_

He would have dropped his phone had he not been squeezing it in a death grip. Pulling it away from his ear, he stared at the number, dumbfounded and amazed. He had dialed for emergency services and started a conversation without knowing it.

"_Hello?_"

Bringing the phone back up to his ear, he spoke through a suddenly dry throat. "There's been a hit and run. Someone's been run over."

"_Where are you?_" The voice of the operator was formal, but crisp.

Tsuna began slowly reciting information, like he was in English class and had to read the next part - only this came easy. As he gave the operator their location, his name, what he saw happen, and a rough description of the car, he found his brain was horrifyingly analyzing the body. With sick curiosity, his eyes roamed up and down her broken form, images burning into his very soul that he would never be able to scrub off.

"_Thank you._" Shuffling papers came from the operators end. "_We ask that you stay on sight till paramedics arrive._"

"Sure." Tsuna said absently.

"_Also, may you give me a rough description of the girl's condition?_"

"Dead."

"_...Excuse me?_"

Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Tsuna spoke clearer. "Sorry - her body is...twisted...blood is coming out of her head..."

Tsuna fought off a burp, tasting bile in the back of his throat. "Oh god...I think I can see her intestines."

"_Have you moved her in any way?_"

Tsuna shook his head, feeling his face slack at the sight of the purplish-gray tubes. "No..."

"_Good - if she does have head trauma, disturbing her could lead to even worse complications._"

Tsuna was still staring at her body. Something had caught his eye when he'd seen the organs...

"_Is there anything else you can see?_"

"_...Hello? Are you still there?_"

Shoulders shaking, he let out a giggle. "Hey, hey, get this." a smile spread across his face. "Did you know that bone looks kinda yellowish when exposed to air? The same color that it is on the inside-"

Toppling over, Tsuna upended the contents of his stomach onto the sidewalk. Retching, he felt the tea he'd had earlier wash up against the roof of his mouth before dripping out, some splashing on his uniform. Groaning, he fell back onto his butt, eyes twisted in pain, smile long gone.

"_Did you just vomit?_"

He groaned back into the phone.

"_Did you get any near our victim?_"

He groaned at a lower octave.

"_Good_."

Slowly, Tsuna leaned back, laying down on the sidewalk, only slightly careful not to put his feet into the mess he'd just created. Sirens sounded off in the distance. Inevitably, this led him to once again looking at the girl's body.

He thought something seemed off about her, now that he was closer to her level and looking from a new angle. Something besides her body being impossibly broken. But it was hard to tell what caught his attention when everything was so grotesquely alluring. Her face hidden by bloody hair. Her legs and arms, broken, bent, and twisted. Her torso, ripped open by the high speed impact. Even the blouse she wore, torn and ruined, that just barely covered her chest now-

Tsuna gasped.

"_What? What is going on?_"

Tsuna watched very carefully, doing his best to feel if any wind was blowing. But not a heavenly caress touched his body - his hairs were on end for a completely different reason. He watched as the fabric across her chest drifted up by a fraction and resettled. Drift up and resettle. Drift up and resettle.

By the fourth movement, Tsuna was finally able to put it into words.

"She's...breathing."

* * *

Pain.

There was pain, but not as much as she might have thought. Or maybe there was too much, and she just couldn't comprehend it all.

But there was definitely pain. And a strange feeling of detachment. Like she wasn't whole anymore.

She wondered if her arms had been ripped off. But then, they wouldn't hurt this much if they did.

A frightened caterwaul swirled in her mind. So the car got Ken too.

That caused her more pain then any wound she'd suffered.

Who knew the cost of her dream would be such an innocent life?

* * *

Shooting up to his feet, he stumbled over, ignoring the earlier warning against disturbing her, nearly screaming into the phone "She's alive!"

The sirens were louder now, maybe twenty seconds away. His phone tumbling out of his hand, Tsuna's knees hit the ground, the teen not giving a thought to the cracking noise he heard clattering next to him of his phone breaking against the bloody roadway.

Now that he was right next to her, looking down, he realized his earlier descriptions weren't entirely accurate. When she had been hit, the resulting collision had knocked her over and caused her to roll - her long hair wrapping _mostly_ around her head. But what Tsuna hadn't seen before was that her left eye was exposed, staring up at the clouds above them. With short and pained gasps, a matted lock blew up and down over her mouth as the girl instinctively attempted to keep her body functioning.

But that wasn't what really affected Tsuna. The final straw for him was the streak running from the corner of her eye, down her cheek. With the dirt and grime plastered onto her face, it was easy to watch the tears rolling down.

His own eyes welled up, choked sobs bubbling up from his chest.

* * *

_Color. She had never appreciated color this way. It was all so strange. Dying, that is. It really put everything into a new perspective._

_She thought she would feel relieved. It was all done. She had hoped that not even memories of her brother would interrupt her serenity. But in her final moments, all she could feel was a lonely bitterness. 'What a waste this has been...'_

_Then a noise. like someone talking underwater, beat at her temple, catching her off guard._

* * *

"Live." He begged. Her pupil dilated, shrinking quickly then expanding again. Like she was surprised someone was calling out to her. Such a sad and disturbing thought broke Tsuna, and he just began babbling at her.

"Please live. Don't go here. Not like this. Not like this..."

His eyes squeezed shut, and the tears fell onto her, mixing with her own.

"LIVE!" He screamed. The echoes were drowned out by the ambulances, which pulled to a rough halt nearly next to them - with more squealing tires, causing him to flinch. The emergency workers were out as soon as the car had fully stopped, back end splayed open as they brought out a gurney.

* * *

_The noise had crescendoed. It had begun as a thump against her temple, before turning into a running stream, trying to wake her from the haze masking her very existence. The stream got louder, before turning into a torrent, one word blowing past the haze and the bitterness to register in her very being._

_And like she'd been ordered, her body began fighting._

* * *

"Move!" One of the workers snapped at Tsuna while the others surrounded the body of the girl. Tsuna, in his shocked haze, stood up quickly and backed away, watching them work.

Standing on the sidewalk, swallowing back more bile as they - from what it appeared to him - _peeled_ the girl off the pavement and put her on the gurney, rushing back into the ambulance, Tsuna realized that he probably just watched someone die, and couldn't do anything about it. He didn't call out to her, to keep her from running into the road. And he'd spent so long in shock...if he'd reacted faster, could he have gotten the call out a few seconds earlier? Thirty seconds? A minute? Or if he'd paid attention when learning first aid instead of staring at the clock, maybe he could have done something to help the victim? At the very least he could have given better information to the emergency operator he called.

But no. Instead he sat on the sidewalk, cried, threw up, and screamed. Like a child. Like a brat.

A feeling of dread creeped up his spine again as two police officers approached him. He felt the need to cry out to all of them, to explain that he was useless, lazy, incompetent. There was nothing else for him to attempt.

This was the extent of what he could do.

* * *

_The colors had softened. The air she'd clawed into her lungs felt different now. The pain ebbed and flowed in strange ways, growing for a moment in places before disappearing nearly completely. And in her head, that word bounced. It brought into dark focus the pit of loneliness she'd fought so hard against acknowledging. But it also reveals a small nugget of pure and unbiased curiosity that called out to the word as the word called back, like a child's melody playing in her soul._

_'LIVE!'_

_Why?_

* * *

Leaning back in the hard seat, Tsuna closed his eyes against the bright fluorescents in the ceiling above. He had a raging headache, smelled funny, was thirsty, and just wanted to sleep, but he couldn't muster the energy to leave the hospital.

The officers had questioned him in detail about what he'd seen and done during the accident. They were especially interested in the car, but Tsuna couldn't tell them much, just that he saw a flash of silver between the branches. After taking his statement, they offered to take him home, but he hadn't wanted to go back just yet - he didn't feel like facing his family's questions. Thinking it was the only other plausible location the police would take him, Tsuna instead asked if he could be brought to the hospital that the girl was being looked at.

On the way to St. Shamal's Hospital for the Feminine Inclined - though most just called it Shofi - the officers explained that a car color would actually help them narrow down their search by a lot. All they would have to do is keep an eye on local auto repair garages to see who would go in to get new tires and a bumper. Tsuna had to sit through a ten minute explanation of car interiors and how rapid breaking or accelerating could damage the tires, causing them to heat up to the point that the rubber would begin to melt; or how bumpers were easily damaged by any collision, even when hitting something as potentially soft as a human body.

"_So if we see anyone that comes in and their treads look melted, or they've got a bad front end, we'll know we've got a probable suspect._"

The officers were obviously just trying to give hope to the young boy they had in the back, but Tsuna didn't really care. He was used to looking pitiful, and had long ago gotten sick of the ways adults tried to cheer him up. His irritation mixed with the empty feeling he'd had since finding the girl caused him to be short with his mother when he called home from the hospital, using the excuse that the receptionist needed her phone back to hang up. He had tried to say goodbye to the officers who had driven him to Shofi, but they insisted they remain - he was a minor, after all. They needed to stay with him until one of his parents arrived, or he decided to be taken home himself.

So now Tsuna was stuck waiting in the hall, two officers sitting on either side of him like he was some delinquent. They'd been very pleasant and relaxed with him, but the high schooler was emotionally wiped out. Despite it only being dusk, he just wanted to curl into a ball and never wake up.

He looked past the officer on his right, at a closed door that the girl was apparently on the other side of. How many hours had it been since they'd begun operating? Was there anything they could even do with someone so broken?

A nursery rhyme his dad had learned overseas and often told him when he was younger came to mind. He began reciting it slowly, quietly, as activity around him picked up.

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall..."

Loud talking could be heard at the end of the hallway, the receptionist patiently talking with a voice that sounded like it belonged to an older woman. Tsuna didn't care.

"Humpty Dumpty had a great fall..."

The officers on either side of him stood up as the angry older voice came closer. Walking into his view, a lady that no doubt would have looked elegant in her younger years strode, giving him a once over and upturning her nose when she saw the disheveled appearance, the dark circles around the eyes, and the fading vomit stains on the end of his shirt and shoes. Beside her were two males: an equally older looking man in full suit and tie like he'd been ripped from work at an office, who looked away from the group, talking quietly into his phone; and a young man about his age, with purple hair tied back to reveal a zigzag hairline.

"And all the Kings horses, and all the Kings men..."

The boy stared at him, his icy gaze holding back whatever emotion he felt, observing Tsuna calmly with the same eye that the girl had looked so forlornly up to the sky with. Still feeling dead inside, Tsuna shrugged at him, raising his voice.

"Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again."

The little conversations around him stopped. The boy he was talking to looked thunder stricken for a moment, before schooling his expression and looking at his feet. The two officers stared at him worriedly, the older women offended, and the office worker surprised - like he'd finally noticed Tsuna_._

Feeling like everyone wanted him to say something else, Tsuna tagged on an awkward "Sorry."

He was spared from the limelight when the I.C.U door opened, a weary doctor exiting the room. The entire meta-group of Tsuna, the officers that had come with him, and the people that had joined them rapidly moved down the hallway, not quite breaking into a run as they closed in on the doctor.

"Well, what happened?" the woman demanded impatiently.

Sighing, the doctor closed his eyes, preparing for the no doubt painful conversation about to unfold.

"Are you the mother?" he asked. Making a twiddling motion with her hand, she dismissed the question.

"Yes, yes, now will you tell me how that good for nothing ever got into this mess?"

To the doctor's credit, he didn't bat an eyelash at the biting words the lady used to describe her own flesh and blood - which was better then Tsuna and the officers with him, all three of whom ran the gamut of horrified and angered expressions.

"She was hit by a car." The doctor began explaining. "There are multiple bone fractures in all four limbs, though individually each break is nothing terribly shocking - especially compared to her torso. Normally with this kind of accident we see much more damage to the limbs, especially the forearms, since people naturally try to defend herself - even if they are caught completely by surprise, there are still instincts that kick in when one feels threatened. I can only conclude with this pattern of injury that she was either bent over when hit, reaching out, trying to protect something..." Lowering his voice slightly, he added "Or just suicidal."

"Foolish girl." the woman muttered. "So is she dead?"

The doctor readjusted his glasses. "Not...yet."

Sighing angrily, the woman began wiping her forehead with a handkerchief. "I assume you have her on some expensive, over the top life support system that is going to cause my medical insurance to go through the roof?"

"Actually," he drew out the word, as if offended by the woman's last remark, "We've been miraculously successful at the operation." The doctor cooly explained. "When we found her, her organs had begun to fail, nerves weren't firing properly, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say she was bleeding out of every pore. But with simple surgeries, we were able to set her limbs back the way they were supposed to be, and work on cleaning her body so it may begin healing itself."

Smiling slightly, the doctors voice considerably warmer, he added "Your child has an amazing will to live. She's fighting with all her might to recover."

The woman scoffed, saying something that caused nearly everyone to flinch from the harshness of it. But Tsuna didn't hear it. The last thing the doctor had said hung in his mind. He remembered how he had freaked out when he'd seen her breathe. The things he had screamed resurfaced in his mind.

_There was no way..._

He looked back at the operating room the girl was resting in. The herculean effort required to hang on to life after that kind of accident astounded him. Leaving the conversation behind, he slowly walked toward the room, noticing a glass pane next to the door. In the long hours he'd been sitting, waiting for news, it had never occurred to him that maybe he could just walk up and look inside to check up on her.

Tsuna slowed to a stop, feeling meek. Peering into the room, he gasped.

The first emotion that he felt was delight. Right in the center of his vision, lying on a bed with tubes and wires plugged into her body, the girl he'd found slept, the rise and fall of her chest much more pronounced then it was back at the scene of the accident. And just like the doctor had said, everything was lying the way it was supposed to - her arms and legs, while in casts, were straight; neither her body or neck seemed twisted unnaturally; and even though there was a medical cap over her head, a breathing unit over her mouth, and a patch on her right eye, Tsuna could still clearly make out her face.

She was without a doubt the twin to the boy behind him. Their cheeks, jawlines, and ears were identical. Tsuna would guess even the hairline that her purple locks followed was zigzag. Which led to the second emotion he felt: pity. The uncaring woman talking to the doctor was really this girl's mother. Tsuna didn't completely get along with his dad, true, but deep down he thought they loved each other. He didn't think his dad said horrible things behind his back like that.

"You must be joking?"

Tsuna looked over his shoulder at the loud exclamation, watching as the girl's mother stared down the doctor, outrage.

"I am being completely serious." The doctors strained voice seeped down the hallway to Tsuna. "As it is, your daughter will have to go through rigorous physical therapy to maximize recovery, but she'll never be the same as she was. We may have to wait months for her legs to heal before your child will even be able to get out of bed. The muscle atrophy that will occur...and that is on top of the internal damage she has suffered. Her spine has been damaged, which may lead to long term complications if it doesn't heal right, and her organs are in danger of failing. If she'd spent a few more minutes on that road, they may have shut down completely. Then we would have certainly lost her."

"And all our lives would have been easier for it." The woman spat.

Finally showing signs of impatience, the doctor rubbed his forehead, speaking curtly. "Look, what worries me the most right now is the blood loss. Things like physical therapy and long term healing wont matter if her organs shut down, which is a _very_ likely possibility if we don't get her body filled with more blood. Everything that has happened to assist your daughter's survival will be undone if we don't get more transfusions going."

Giving the woman he was speaking to a pointed glare, he added "And I'm sure the process would go much faster if we had a donation from a direct relative with the same blood type-"

"What, me?" The woman scoffed. "Poke holes in my body for a child? Never!"

Finally getting off the phone, the office worker next to her put a calming hand on her shoulder. "Now, honey..."

"I'm right!" She rebuffed. "That girl has caused us nothing but trouble. She hasn't made any friends since she was a child, spending all her time at that dirty park instead of at home or afterschool clubs. No one can ever guess what she was thinking - she's even distant with us! Every moment she's alive is a chore for her own family."

A word was muttered, silencing the woman's rant. Looking behind her in surprise, she finally noticed the state the boy was in. Even Tsuna could see the clenched fist shaking at the male twin's side.

Her voice only slightly quieter, the woman said with forced sympathy "You must understand Mukuro, your sister is a black stain on this family. She has never been able to move on from your father's passing, nor my sister's murder."

Tsuna felt horrified from what he was hearing. The police officers seemed to feel the same as him, actually taking steps away from the woman and her poisonous words. Even the doctor stage coughed, looking at the office worker - _The stepdad?_ - for help. But he just pulled out his phone, saying something about 'the company' and 'missed meeting' before turning away and talking quietly.

Then he felt that same impulse he'd felt right before the accident. That he needed to move. That he couldn't just stand still and do nothing. Feeling his cheeks warm for some strange reason, he looked back into the intensive care unit.

The girl's eye was open.

* * *

When Chrome opened her eye, the first thing she noticed was that she couldn't see out of her right eye. She couldn't even feel it - there was just an empty space.

The second thing she noticed was that she could hardly move. Once her _eye_ had adjusted to the bright white light of the room she was in, she noticed her entire body seemed to be bandaged in some way. Especially her torso, which was practically mummified. There was even something over her nose and mouth, preventing her facial muscles from moving properly.

And then she could hear her mother's words.

They seeped down the hall like poison gas, slipping underneath her door and floating up to her ears, one of the few parts of her body not covered. Chrome could say she was surprised, but she would be lying. Exasperated that she had no time to rest, maybe. But this? This was par for the course with her mother.

She had an inkling that there was some question she wanted an answer to, but she didn't care. Chrome saw no point anymore.

* * *

She stared at her feet forlornly, truly looking devoid of life. All of Tsuna's blood felt like it was pooling in his toes. Light headed, he swayed, incredible empathy building in him. And still _that woman_ talked behind him.

"Your sister hasn't shown the slightest lady-like tendency. As a child she always clung to you like a big tick, playing boy games with your friends, shrieking like an annoying bat. And then there was her poor attempt at overcorrection in middle school, closing up like a clam and throwing away all her dirty toys and play clothes. But still she couldn't even master the piano or violin. She wasn't even that pretty! You must have felt as embarrassed as I when we would take her out in public. And then in high school she starts getting slightly better grades, then suddenly everyone is ready to look past all of her shortcomings? When has she ever contributed to this family?"

Tsuna could hear _that woman_ sigh, a soft noise like she was patting the brother's - _Mukuro, right?_ - head. "You must face it. Nagi is, well...a useless introvert."

_BANG!_

Everyone jumped, looking at Tsuna in shock. He had slapped the glass panel in front of him, his fingers splayed across it, pressing like he was trying to reach through it and touch the girl on the other side.

The girl - _Nagi..._ - also seemed shocked by the sudden noise, her eye widening and flicking to him. He held her gaze, his mind going at a million miles an hour, trying to figure out what he could possibly do to make this right. But his mind just kept coming up blank, again and again.

* * *

Chrome had been shaken from her spiraling laments by the loud noise, her entire body flinching painfully. A nurse somewhere to her side gasped as well, looking around wildly.

In front of her, on the other side of a window, a boy about her brother's age stood. He had brown hair that could only be described as long, though why it was sticking up she had no clue. He was wearing a dirty school uniform for one of the high schools close to where she lived - though he should be on summer break at the moment, so she didn't know why he was dressed the way he was.

And then there were his eyes. His brown eyes, apologetic, embarrassed, sad. Chrome felt a wealth of emotion coming from him, so much so that her throat constricted, unsettled.

Then a fragment of a memory flashed through her mind. Of someone pleading with her. Of a question that gave her new life. All at once she put the pieces together.

She knew this boy.

* * *

Tsuna heard rushed footsteps behind him. The doctor came up on his side. "What do you think you're do-"

Seeing what he was staring at, the doctor's face went slack. "She's awake." the man whispered, in awe.

Then he was all business, pulling open the door to the intensive care unit and barking orders at a nurse Tsuna couldn't see. "Patient is awake! I want more people in here running tests and making sure nothing is wrong with her, I want to know why the anesthetics aren't keeping her down completely, and I want someone to _actually be watching the patient instead of eavesdropping like a middle school fangirl!_"

The doctor approached Nagi's bed, but stopped before he said anything.

Slowly, the injured girl raised her arm, reaching out for Tsuna like she was trying to hold the hand he had up against the glass. Feeling his eyes begin to water again, Tsuna tried to smile at her. Because he felt genuinely happy - the life had returned to her gaze.

"And who are you?" a snippy voice asked from right next to his ear.

Giving a little squeal of fright, Tsuna jumped, backing up rapidly when faced with the wrinkled face of _that woman_. Stuttering, he explained "I-I'm the one that called the ambulance-"

"Why did you do that?" _The woman_ cut him off. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to mind your own business? And what are you still doing here? You've done your _charity_, now get out! This is none of your concern."

Tsuna's mouth moved, but no words formed. Instead, he felt the weight of an older hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon." One of the police officers said. "It's time to head home."

Giving the iciest glare he could to _the woman_, he added "Some people just aren't worth the effort."

"Yet you've chosen to save her life." _that woman_ smirked. "Shouldn't you be out actually doing something, or do our taxes now pay for babysitting purposes as well?"

The hand on Tsuna's shoulder tightened. "Let's go." The officer ground out, guiding Tsuna back down the hallway.

* * *

Chrome watched as the boy was nearly jumped by his mother, then slowly escorted away. Panic engulfed her, causing her to stretch her arm to its' limit, hoping he would notice something, and stay a little longer. She had a question to ask him!

* * *

The high schooler looked over his shoulder and back into the intensive care unit as he was led away. Nagi stared after him, her eye telling him everything he needed to know. The fear, the uncertainty, the despair.

She didn't want him to go.

On impulse, he reached up and moved his finger, like he was writing in the air. He did it quickly, hoping no one else but her noticed. From the slight nod Nagi gave him, he assumed his message got through. Unfortunately, it seemed everyone else had also understood what his intentions were. _That woman_ glared at him with a piercing gaze that would kill elephants as the police officers smirked, winking at him and patting his back. The doctor gave him a thumbs up, patting Nagi's cast as he got to work.

And as they passed by Mukuro, he reached out and grasped Tsuna's hand in a one-sided handshake, not looking him in the eye.

Staring at the hand he'd written with - the one Mukuro had shaken - he felt apprehension constricting his throat. Already he was regretting his thoughtless promise, but all of the people around him had borne witness, so he had no choice. He had to fulfill his duty.

_I'll be back_.

* * *

_**Don't get your hopes up - I have no idea when I'm going to update this one. But you're already experienced with that little habit of mine, aren't you? On that note, I feel I must apologize again; if I'd realized that you took my stories so dearly, I would have been much better about updating. Or at least, I'd like to think I would be. In reality I most likely would have buckled under the pressure and spit out some worthless crap that would disappoint you more then impress. But as they say, hindsight is a perfect 20/20.**_

* * *

**Well, that was interesting. I should tell you all now; I've never been hit by a car, nor been that close to death, nor seen a body in real life, nor have the slightest clue whether the diagnosis given by the doctor is remotely realistic. I do know that most I.C.U.s don't have 'viewing' windows, but...I'm going to call artistic license on that one. In fact, though it pains me to say, I might just have to call artistic license on a lot of this story. But let's hope not.**

**Anyway, that's part one, I hope you enjoyed it. Keep your eyes out for part two, which is shaping up to be fairly shorter.**


	2. Today

White.

It was the pervasive color of the hallway. The floor, the walls, the ceiling - they were all different shades of white. White papers were tacked onto boards, reflecting white lights that flickered above people roaming the paths in white gowns or white coats or white outfits. Even the doors lining one of the walls were barren white.

Tsuna stood outside one such door, taking a few deep and controlled breaths.

It had been a few days since he'd been escorted out of Shofi by the officers. When he'd gotten home, he'd just wanted to sleep, so he ignored the questions of his family and house guests, heading straight up to his room. The next morning, he'd explained everything to them; and they were proud of Tsuna for what he did and horrified at what had happened. He'd headed off to his remedial lessons, feeling the weight of what he'd promised bearing down on him.

It took three days for him to break - because now it was the weekend, and with few friends to speak of, he had nothing to do. So, thinking about what he had seen, Tsuna got dressed in cleaner, casual clothes, and set out for the hospital.

Now he paused in front of the room he'd been told the girl, Rokudo Nagi, was staying in. He'd heard some babble from the receptionist about needing to be quiet and not to worry about other occupants, she was alone, but his nerves had kept him from paying attention. He could barely breathe properly.

Fighting back the jitters, he softly knocked twice on that nerve-wrecking white door. He'd tried for a third time, but his strength gave out and his hand just rested against the nameplate. The patient on the other side heard him anyway.

"Come in." a quiet female voice responded to his knocks.

Creaking the door open, he looked around the room quickly. Immediately he noticed why Nagi was by herself - the room wasn't big enough for two beds. Her resting place alone took up a third of the available area. Then there was a small table with some violets in a vase, a T.V. hanging up in a corner, and two chairs by the bed, all being thrown into relief by the noonday sun coming in from the large window in the opposite wall.

Fully entering the room and shutting the door behind him, Tsuna looked Nagi over again. Her condition hadn't changed much since he'd last seen her, with the exception of the mask over her face, which was currently off and hanging by a hook next to the bed. Her limbs were still in casts, the bandages around her eye and the cap over her head.

Looking at his feet meekly as he remembered his manners, he gave a quick bow. "Hello! I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, the one who called the ambulance for you."

Peeking up at her, Tsuna noticed her expression hadn't changed, still staring at him with a detached look in her eye. Yet she didn't give off the feeling that she was repulsed by him, or wanted him to leave her alone, so that was good. She nodded at one of the chairs, and he quickly took his seat, coughing and crossing his legs.

"I am Chrome." was as far as her own introduction went.

They stared at each other. Tsuna was waiting for her to say something, ignoring the horrible feeling she was waiting for the same thing.

* * *

Chrome had been trying to rest for the past day. Her first two nights in the hospital had been full of tests and operations as the doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to help her pull through. When they had been all finished, the doctor in charge suggested she get some sleep and concentrate on recovering - it was going to be a long road for her.

But no matter how she rolled her head, Chrome couldn't find a comfortable sleeping position. Her consciousness would slip for no more then a few hours, and when she awoke something always felt cramped.

Negative emotions swirled inside of her. Loneliness, bitterness, frustration, and now exhaustion. So she was less then pleased when she heard a knock on her door. Imagine her surprise when the boy she'd seen the other night walked through the threshold, making good on his silent promise to return.

Through all the negative emotions, that shining kernel of curiosity sped up her heart, and out of habit Chrome tried to straighten her back. This was her opportunity to find out why he had saved her.

But as the boy introduced himself, she quickly realized her first challenge in trying to satisfy her burning curiosity.

Starting conversations had never been her strength. She found the boy's honest gaze was almost too bright to look into, making her keep as neutral a face as she possibly could for fear of breaking out into a huge blush. So, after giving an embarrassed introduction of her own, Chrome waited for him to say something, ignoring the horrible feeling he was waiting for the same thing.

* * *

Tsuna's nerves were acting up again. It was no surprise that she would give him such an appraising look - the last time she'd seen him, he had slapped a glass pane, wearing a school uniform with puke on it, dark circles under his eyes that made him look like a tanuki. And no amount of clothing change could fix his inhuman hair.

When Tsuna felt the first beads of sweat begin to roll down his neck, he knew he had to say something, or else be caught in an even more embarrassing situation.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked without thinking.

She looked at him the way an adult would look at a small child that has just sworn loudly. _Why was he showing such concern for a stranger?_ she thought. "Excuse me?"

Tsuna winced. _Of course she wasn't feeling better you dimwit, she's in bandages!_ He'd never felt more awkward in his life, except for that time when he was six and had spilled juice on an equally young girl during a business party. It was the first time the company had allowed for the families of those invited to come along. It was also the last time...

"I, uh, just noticed you weren't wearing the mask, and...um..." Tsuna made some random motion with his hands. "Thought you might be feeling better then you were the other day."

Still watching him with a strange expression - _is he trying to flirt with me? No, no, no, he isn't being nearly smooth enough -_ Nagi nodded, carefully explaining "The doctors are afraid prolonged use could lead to addiction, so they only turn on the machine for part of the day."

Tsuna nodded, understanding what she was saying...until he followed the hose attached to the mask back to the device it was plugged into, and saw it was right next to her bed.

"But if you wanted to get addicted to them, couldn't you just turn the machine back on yourself?" he asked.

She blinked at him, with an air around her that made Tsuna think she was waiting for him to realize something. When he didn't obviously pick up on what she was hoping he would, she cleared her throat. "Uh...Tsuna, was it? I can't move my arms."

To prove her point, she tried to shrug. The casts kept her from doing more then twitch however.

"Ah." Tsuna pulled at his collar. "Well. Thanks for pointing that out, Nagi-"

Disgust welled up deep in her chest.

"Chrome." She cut in sharply.

"Huh?"

"It's Chrome." She repeated. "Call me Chrome."

She didn't know how he had learned her other name, but she could forgive him this once for using it. Now he knew better, and such a polite young man wouldn't dare insult her so blatantly again.

"Okay...Chrome." Tsuna said slowly, feeling he'd suddenly overstepped his bounds. "Sorry for not noticing earlier."

She twitched. "It's okay."

Awkward silence floated between them again. Tsuna looked around the room some more to avoid having to watch her eye. He just knew he'd screwed up this conversation. On every level. The longer this dragged on, the more he'd embarrass himself. He'd fulfilled his duty, and checked up on her. Time to escape this farce.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're improving." he said, standing up. "I think I've taken up enough of your time. Rest, and get better soon."

"Oh." she said, her voice oddly flat. Tsuna felt a twinge of guilt at that, but headed for the door none the less.

* * *

Chrome just knew she'd screwed up this conversation. On every level. She'd been too forward, she hadn't been forward enough, she'd been too distant, she'd payed too much attention...she could think of a dozen reasons how she'd misstepped. And now she was paying for it, not even getting the conversation started before Tsuna decided to leave.

Panic ate away at the bottom of her heart. She had to do something to make sure her question would get answered.

* * *

As he twisted the handle to go out, a much quieter, much younger sounding, much meeker voice called to him. "Tsuna?"

When he looked at Chrome again, she seemed smaller, the equipment around her too big, constricting and pulling her into the bed. And maybe it was the light, but for a moment Tsuna would have described her as being trapped.

"Come back soon?"

* * *

Chrome knew she had no right to ask anything of him. He'd called the ambulance, stayed at the hospital until he knew she was okay, had warded off her mother's poisonous words, and even made good on his promise to visit her again. She was a complete stranger, yet Tsuna had gone out of his way to make sure she was alright.

But as selfish as she felt in admitting it, that wasn't enough. Chrome could never rest easy until she knew _why_ he'd done the things he'd done.

* * *

It was a question, which was what undid Tsuna's determination. She didn't know if he was going to follow her wishes, but asked anyway. And he was a human being, with a sense of empathy - one that when she spoke, tugged at all the right heart strings.

So he solemnly nodded as he left her room, shutting the door behind him, not needing to look back. He knew he'd be visiting again soon.

* * *

Tsuna knocked on Chrome's hospital door, waiting for the "Come in" before pulling it open, slipping through the crack and pulling the door shut again, like a spy sneaking into a government office. Chrome was sitting up on her bed still, mask off, muttering to a tablet on her lap "Turn page."

"Hello." Tsuna said. Chrome motioned to the chair he'd sat in last time he'd visited, nearly a week ago. Thanking her, he pulled off his school bag, setting it down by his feet as he rested.

Chrome worked hard to not glance at him, re-reading the same line three times before she simply let her eyes halt. She'd thought about Tsuna's last visit very carefully, and determined that she hadn't led the conversation well enough. The last time he had come, Tsuna was just looking to talk to her - which meant that if she gave the right pushes, she could get him to start talking about his motivations. All she needed was for him to get the ball rolling.

So she mentally prepared herself, and waited for Tsuna to begin.

* * *

His original plan of waiting till the weekend to come back had failed when his mom said that she had to runs errands those days and his dad would be out of town, forcing him to babysit his three little siblings while watching over the house guests during the weekend visiting hours. So, faced with the choice of coming early or waiting an extra two days, his conscience pushed him to visit Shofi right after school that Friday.

This time however, he wasn't going to let the conversation be as embarrassing. He was going to redeem himself for last visit's gaffes. And just that day, not hours before, he'd been handed the perfect key to pass the time.

"Reading a book?" he asked. Tsuna figured he had to start somewhere. Chrome didn't throw out the sarcastic response he'd been expecting, just nodding and adding "Tokugawa Shogunate."

"History!" Tsuna exclaimed, straightening in his seat. "You read books on history. Does that mean you like it? Get decent marks in school?"

Chrome did her twitch-shrug. "I prefer literature." Glancing at him, she said "I like knowing why people do things."

Tsuna nodded quickly while she muttered 'Turn page' again. "Yeah, literature." he agreed. "Protagonist, antagonist, simile, metaphone - all that stuff. You're good at that, too?"

"I want to figure out why the characters do what they do." Chrome answered. "Why they fall in love with others, why they are important to the plot and what they might change..."

Giving him another sideways glance, she finished "Or why they try to save complete strangers."

Ignoring the aching feeling that he just missed an important conversation cue, Tsuna kept nodding, leaning forward. "Right, right. And how about math? You're good at math too?"

She looked up from her book in confusion. This wasn't what she had intended. "Yes, but-"

"Great," Tsuna opened up his bag, "because I need a _ton_ of help."

Pulling out his books, he added "If you're up to it, of course."

That day, in his remedial maths lesson, the teacher had handed out an assignment of all the concepts they'd covered so far. He'd been at a loss for what to do on it, until the idea appeared in his head that he could always ask Chrome for help, to see if she knew anything. He'd heard her mother mention that Chrome's grades had been going up when she entered high school. And as long as there was upward growth, he knew she was better then him. What could it hurt to ask?

She stared at him blankly as Tsuna set up a textbook on the chair next to his, flipping open his notebook to the last page and pulling out a worksheet. Reaching back into his bag, he hissed in pain as he impaled himself on his sharpened pencils. The pathetic and pained look he gave her must have been convincing enough, because she nodded, sounding put out. "All right."

* * *

It wasn't the topic Chrome had wanted to talk about, but looking into Tsuna's eyes, she knew this is what he had his mind on. Maybe if she helped him with this, an opportunity to talk about his beliefs would pop up.

So setting her tablet aside, she craned her neck to better see what he was working on.

* * *

"Okay, so this is what I'm stuck on now. What I can't get is how to find what these letters mean. Just 'X' is bad enough, but adding 'Y' and 'Z' in? This can't be possible to solve."

"It's quite simple. Since they supply you with three equations, and we can infer that the different 'X', 'Y', and 'Z' represent the same number in each of those equations, we can isolate the coefficients in front of each variable exactly as they are now, creating a three by three matrix. Using the answers to each of the equations we were given, we can create a separate one by three matrix, then multiply the two of them together using the rules of matrix multiplication. The resulting solution will be another one by three matrix, with the top number equalling 'X', the middle number equalling 'Y', and the bottom number equalling 'Z'."

"...Chrome, you lost me at co-whatevers."

"...Oh boy..."

* * *

"See, this one is hard too. I've reworked it countless times in class, double checked my answers with the book over and over again, even outlined each rule I used for each step. But every time I do this, I always end with a zero in the denominator, which according to some dead guy that hated stupid people means that the answer is wrong. No matter how long I look at this though, I can't see where I'm screwing up. Help?"

"...Your mistake is right here."

"But...but...how? Aren't you supposed to add together like terms when simplifying? They both have the same variable next to them-"

"Tsuna, what's two plus two?"

"...Damn it."

* * *

"This problem has got to be the toughest one yet. It has to do with triangles - look at this picture! It's like something out of Buddha's nightmares! And they want me to find the length of this hypotenuse? I'm not even completely sure what a hypotenuse is!"

"Actually, if I'm looking at your erased work right, you did it correctly the first time-"

"GAH!"

* * *

"Thanks Chrome." Tsuna smiled, packing his bags. "You were a great help."

"Do you understand it any better?" She asked, slowly relaxing her neck back into her pillow, sighing quietly in comfort.

Tsuna grimaced. "Not really. But thanks anyway - I know I'll do better then I've ever done before."

"That seems pretty high hoped of you." Chrome said doubtfully as he stood up.

"If I get even one of these right, it'll be the best I've ever done." Tsuna laughed awkwardly. "The bar isn't exactly high."

Silence settled between the two of them, Tsuna shuffling his feet and looking at the late afternoon sun. "I should probably get going home."

"Come back soon." Chrome said, sounding more confident then she had the last time she'd made that request. Her eye was closed, her chest barely rising and falling - if Tsuna hadn't just watched her mouth move, he would have thought she was asleep.

Gulping and pretending he hadn't heard anything, Tsuna scurried out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Taking off into a near sprint, Tsuna almost collided with a slender body. Reeling back, catching his balance, Tsuna straightened, coming eye to eye with one Rokudo Mukuro.

Chrome's older brother sized the frightened visitor up slowly, his gaze running from forehead to toes to forehead. Tsuna couldn't shake the feeling that his very soul was being looked at.

"Chrome, is, ah, looking pretty tired." Tsuna said, trying to dissipate the dark feeling he got from being around Mukuro. "If you're here to see her. Which, of course you are, why else would you come to this corridor if not to see your sister, right? Haha...ha..."

Mukuro's eyes slowly narrowed to slits. "That name - how did you learn of it?"

"Name?" Tsuna asked, fear building up in him. "What name? I don't know about any name. Honest."

Mukuro pinned him a moment longer with his glare, causing the brunette to sweat, before he released him, looking away and scoffing to himself. "It is of little importance."

"Right, yeah, not important." Tsuna agreed quickly, nodding a few times for good measure. "Great talk we had. Well, if you won't be needing me..."

Slipping around the taller boy, Tsuna quickly began walking down the hall again, freezing when Mukuro's voice caught up to him. "Why do you keep coming back?"

Slowly turning on his heel, Tsuna looked back to find Mukuro once again staring at him suspiciously. Tsuna thought about the little conversations he had with Chrome. Outside of the horror he felt for her plight, there was really no reason for him to return again and again like this. But he did anyway, and only one explanation readily came to mind.

Tsuna shrugged. "Because she keeps asking me to."

* * *

Chrome's eye opened in curiosity when she heard knocking sounds coming from the door again. Glancing around as best she could, Chrome wondered what Tsuna could have left behind. "Come in?"

The door slowly opening, the smiling face of her older brother peeked in. "Hello dear Chrome. A little kitten told me you were sleeping."

"Only trying, brother." Chrome smiled back, repeating what she'd said earlier. "Come in, come in."

Sauntering towards her, he placed a quick peck on her forehead before settling in a chair. "How do you feel today?"

"Tired." she replied truthfully.

"Still?" A bit of empathy leaked into his voice. "That's too bad. I hope you find a comfortable resting position soon."

"There's only so many I can try out." she sighed. "I may just have to wait for these casts to come off before I can get a good rest."

A small line appeared on Mukuro's forehead as his brow creased in worry. He patted her cast. "I'm sure you'll find something that works." His voice taking on a teasing tone, he added "Although if you're this tired, what are you doing entertaining strange men?"

Chrome shot him a dirty look. "Brother!" Quietly, she continued "Tsuna isn't strange."

"Oh?" a mock-accusing tone entered his voice. "On a first name basis are you? I believe I even heard him call you by your stage name. How..._personal._"

Chrome's glare deepened, her face turning red. "It's not that. It's just..."

She bit her lip nervously. "He's...interesting." she finally settled on. "I want to know more about him."

Mukuro watched her very carefully. "I see."

His grin stretching out across his face, he winked. "I guess my older brother instincts were right after all. I'm going to have to break out the baseball bat for this one-"

Chrome twitched, her face flaming up to a ripe color. But she was glad that Mukuro hadn't seen through her. What she had said about Tsuna was true, in an _extremely_ vague sense. She could never outright tell him that the real reason she wanted to know so much about Tsuna was because she didn't understand why he saved her life. That would cause her older brother to worry more then he already was.

Chrome never wanted to lay that kind of guilt on him.

* * *

A nurse entered Chrome's room, smiling brightly. "Hello hello! It's time for your medicine!"

Chrome's head rolled to the side, watching as the air-headed woman in charge of overseeing her carefully walked, tray overfilled with the medication not only for Chrome, but the patients in the rooms next to her as well.

"Well don't you look dandy!" The nurse's grin intensified, positively glowing. "It must have been your mother visiting - family is so important in times of stress."

The young girl's heart beat painfully at the thought. She did suppose her current mindset _was_ because of her mother's visit the other day...

As the nurse approached, she stepped onto a damp spot on the tile floor. Chrome tried to say something in warning, but it was too late: the nurses' foot slid forward, her arms flying upward as she lost her balance, the tray spinning off to the side, medication going everywhere. With a thunderous crash, the tray bounced once, twice, cartwheeling on the floor before stopping against the far wall.

Chrome looked down at her bed, noticing all the different pills scattered across her sheets. An object glinted next to the inner part of Chrome's thigh, and her eye widened. _What luck..._

The nurse was on the floor, apologizing at the speed of light, scrambling to pick up as much medication as she could. She sounded choked up, like she would burst into tears at any moment. She didn't notice Chrome lean forward and pick something up, quickly slipping it under her sheets.

Then Chrome's doctor came into the room and started barking rebukes at the panicky nurse, who just apologized faster, tears ruining her makeup. Chrome could feel the tension in the room, and she knew why. She could guess it easily from the looks the doctor wasn't giving her, or the forced cheer any of the nurses displayed when they visited her room. Something wasn't going right with her recovery.

Complications were beginning to appear.

But it was okay. Chrome knew it was okay. Someone would have to help her, but that was fine. It would turn out for the best. She knew it clear as day, when she felt the cool steel of the scalpel against her skin.

_It would all be alright soon..._

* * *

Tsuna knocked twice, turning the handle to the door before he even heard the "Come in" that had become customary between the two of them. It had been seven weeks since the accident, and Tsuna had been showing up every Sunday, although once his family kept him at home, and another time he just forgot when Shofi's visiting hours were. All in all, it was his fifth visit to Chrome's hospital room, though it felt more frequent then that to him. And tiring, like even entering Shofi was sapping his energy.

He found her staring out her window into the gardens, trying to hum a sad tune.

"Hello!" He greeted, the way he always did when he first entered, setting his school bag down in a chair and taking his spot right next to her bed. Looking her up and down, he smiled slightly. "You look much better with those casts off."

Chrome looked down at her arms, which were locked in place now by smaller, removable braces instead of the white plaster they'd been in before. "I guess." she said shortly, melancholy overtaking her tone.

Tsuna leaned over, trying to get a better look at her face. "Hey Chrome, you okay?"

Slowly, she made eye contact with him. Many of the bandages that were wrapped around her head had been removed, the medical cap taken off weeks ago - and Tsuna felt some satisfaction from being right, _she did have that zigzag hairline_. A simple eyepatch provided by the hospital covered her right socket - she refused to get a glass eye to replace the one that had been lost in the accident.

Since she'd started healing, Chrome had gained a measure of mobility. She could actually turn her body now. He'd seen her sleeping, stretching, relaxing, and even yawning once.

But today she looked lost and forlorn. And she wasn't responding to him, so he repeated himself - "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

Chrome thought about the different ways she could answer that one. She supposed the correct answer was 'yes, there is something wrong', but staring with that would make it difficult to push the conversation where it needed to go.

Ever since she'd gotten a hold of the scalpel, Chrome had begun to wonder if it mattered why Tsuna saved her. It was an incredibly kind gesture, and she wished she'd met him earlier in life, but wishes belonged in fairytales, and the existence she had suffered through was very real. Her mother had reminded her of that last week. Reminded her of the windowless, sterilized tunnel of a recovery she would have to suffer through. Reminded her of the life that she would return to when released from the hospital.

So it didn't matter why Tsuna saved her. It would all be undone in the end. But she was sure he wouldn't take it personally - he would understand, he was kind like that.

Quietly, as if afraid someone would overhear them, she whispered to him "I need your help with something."

"What?" Tsuna asked, feeling uneasy. Something didn't feel right about the situation. "Are you in pain? Does this have to do with that nurse's accident?"

Chrome shook her head. "It's not just that."

Looking around the room, she pointed a bit with her chin - the best she could do to draw his attention to the walls surrounding them. "It's this place. This lonely prison that reeks of alcohol and sterilization. It's driving me insane."

"It...it is?" Tsuna looked around the room quickly, suddenly thinking the room looked much darker, the shadows elongating in his mind with each word Chrome spoke.

"Yes...this entire hospital is the problem." Chrome explained, looking at the door to her room. "The same walls, day in to day out; nothing ever changing, nothing ever growing. Life is preserved here, but I've never seen life actually be permitted to create. Any time a bug crawls in, or the flowers outside get too close to the window, they're removed with dismaying speed. Even the smell here is kept the same, my room being regularly cleaned and disinfected. It's all neutral. Too neutral."

Chrome's fingers did their best to curl around the braces. Tsuna listened on with rapt attention - he'd never heard her speak so much at one time. It was slightly disturbing. And she wasn't done.

"It's not just this room either. I have no idea what the rest of the hospital looks like, because I've been confined in here for fifty days now, but the nurses and doctors that come are always dressed the same, with nearly the same haircuts, the same words, the same lives. By this point, they're all wearing masks to me. And who knows how much longer it will be before I can even get out of this bed, let alone be released?"

"Um, well, it has already been fifty days, like you said...how much longer could your legs really need to heal?" Tsuna tried to push forward an encouraging smile. Chrome seemed to half-ignore him though, not looking at him as she continued.

"It's not just my legs. And it could be much, much longer. The doctors have already begun preparing me for _that _conversation." Her voice became disdainful.

Dreading the answer, Tsuna asked through a dry throat. "...What conversation?"

Chrome rolled an eye to look at him, sullen.

"The one where they tell me about the complications."

"Complications?" Tsuna parroted, shooting up in his chair.

"Yes." Chrome leaned back in her bed, eye sliding shut. As she spoke, her voice grew quieter, the disdain receding to be replaced by a dull resignation. "I can already tell. My shoulder feels smaller then it should be, and tugged, like it's resting too high on my body. My breaths are always shallow. There are days my legs feel numb, and there are days I can't feel them at all, but they haven't been right since I've been brought here. And that's just what I can think of now. Who knows what else my be going wrong?"

Chrome bit her bottom lip, shaking her head once. It was time to ask. Her muscles had atrophied too much, and she needed the help, whether Tsuna liked it or not.

"Sometimes I feel like I'll never recover."

Near instantly, Tsuna was out of his chair, which was knocked over by the force he used to spring up. "Don't say that! You can't say that!"

The loud clatter of the chair falling over snapped Chrome out of her haze, nipping her lip in shock, the pain clearing her mind and causing her to refocus on Tsuna. "Why...why not?"

The teen ran a hand through his knotted hair. "Oh, don't you see? Of course you're recovering!"

When it looked like she wasn't following his line of thought, he began pacing from her feet to her head. "You're put back together! You say you have trouble feeling your legs? Well of course you would - they had been whipped _around_ _each_ _other_ at one point! Your shoulder was smashed to tiny pieces, and now it's been reassembled. Being put back together at all is amazing. And your ribs! Your, your stomach...all that blood you lost..."

Tsuna spun on his heel to look her in the eye, a sheen of withheld tears reflecting the afternoon glow across his brown gaze, making it seem orange. His hoarse voice croaked at her "If only you could see what I saw when I found you. What kind of mess you were in. You wouldn't be saying you aren't recovering."

Looking at his feet, he slowly righted the chair he'd knocked over in his outburst, falling back into it and hiding his face in his hands, his shoulders stiff, strange hiccup sounds coming from his mouth. Chrome jolted when she realized Tsuna was actually crying.

She didn't know what to say, or how to comfort him. Once again, he had turned the conversation on its' head. She opened her mouth to return to the topic she'd needed help with, but found herself in no hurry to broach the subject. Odd.

After a few minutes of stifled sobs and tear stained cheeks, Tsuna looked up at her through his fingers. She seemed lost in her own thoughts again, looking depressed. He needed to make her see what he could see.

"You really impress me." He started. "You know that? I am amazed every time I come here."

Chrome's fists tried to ball up. She had a feeling this speech was going to happen. The one where Tsuna lauds her for staying strong during her recovery, for facing each new day head held high, for not succumbing to despair despite everything set against her. It was the speech that Chrome's nurses gave her nearly every day, and by this point she had a rebuff for every point they could come up with. Oh, if only they could see into her thoughts...

Tsuna quietly chuckled. "The speed at which you read out loud, for starters. I have no idea how you can nearly sing the haikus and poems your brother drops off. And the size of the books that they come from! I had no idea that amount of writing even existed!"

Chrome's head snapped to the side, jaw fighting to slide open. "What?"

"And math!" Tsuna exclaimed. "How do you do those equations inside your head? I sometimes wonder if you've had the formulas stamped into the inside of your brain, where they just solve themselves. I still need to use my fingers to add up numbers, but you - you can multiply triple digits without making a sound. Awe inspiring."

The injured girl slowly shook her head. Tsuna began speaking louder.

"Remember when I was having trouble with my science, and you had no idea what I was talking about, so you just had me put the book on your lap as you sped read the chapter? In ten minutes, you were teaching me better then the faculty at my school could in ten hours."

"It was a simple technique-" Chrome tried to argue, emotion building in her voice, before Tsuna cut her off with a good natured snort.

"For you maybe." He smiled. "But for me, I couldn't understand those words no matter how long I stared at them. You changed that. You've helped me so much, despite all the horrible things you're going through right now."

As he lauded her for what she'd done, the boy had a chilling realization dawn on him that threw every thought and action he'd had over the past two months into horrible relief. "And yet I've done so little..."

Tsuna's head fell again, and he hugged himself as quietly he started sobbing again. Chrome felt herself growing more distressed - heard her heart rate monitor get louder - with each syllable she could make out between her visitors' lamenting gasps.

"Just patronizing you...have no idea...what I'm talking about...on a high horse...can't be bothered to even come...more then once...a week...always begging for help...work, work, work...won't leave you alone...powerless...it was just a stupid phone call..."

It was simple to figure out what was bothering him. Chrome knew the feeling of worthlessness like she knew the back of her hand. It was easy to see it in him. It was also easy to see that he was incorrect.

Chrome had a million thoughts that she wanted Tsuna to know. But she'd never been good at expressing words - when she tried, instead of a calming and caring speech, all that came out was a slightly hysteric "You're wrong!"

Tsuna flinched at Chrome's words, looking almost hurt. Unable to think of any other follow up and unwilling to retract the statement, she ignored the IV's in her body and restraints clamping her muscles and threw her arms around Tsuna, pulling him tight.

"You're wrong." She cooed again, running her hands through his hair. Slowly, he wrapped is own arms around her waist and pulled her closer, crying into the offered shoulder.

Tsuna rubbed a small circle in her back. It hurt to realize he'd done almost nothing for this girl. It hurt worse to see her despairing the way he despaired, when she was such a better person. He hoped that she could somehow understand how much she was worth.

* * *

This would be the perfect time to pounce on Tsuna. In his weakened emotional state, it wouldn't take much to break him. She could hit him with the knowledge that her developing complications might trap her in Shofi for nearly a year. She could describe the blinding pain that sometimes wracked her body, or the migraines she'd never had before. And even if that information somehow made his resolve stronger - Chrome no longer expected Tsuna to follow her estimations, he was too different - it wouldn't be difficult to get his help..._ending_ it.

But the thought now filled her with revulsion, forced her throat closed with fear and her eyes filled with fresh tears.

So she held Tsuna, while the seconds measured by her quickly beating heart turned to hours, the sun went from yellow to orange, and the sobs finally quieted.

* * *

Sniffling, he whispered in her ear. "Don't give up Chrome. Don't say that you'll never recover. Isn't there anything you want to do when you get out of here?"

Thinking hard, she finally nodded, whispering back apprehensively "...I want to go to Disneyland."

Tsuna pulled away, staring at her, confused and perplexed. "Seriously?" he asked.

Chrome blushed, looking away and pulling back as well. Realizing his mistake, Tsuna nearly tripped himself out of his chair in apologizing. "No-no-not th-that that's bad or anything! Disneyland is a great place! I love Disneyland!"

Chrome looked back out of the corner of her eye, her glance wry and disbelieving. Tsuna's apologies grew quieter as a big grin broke out across his face, and then he was laughing exuberantly, rocking back in his chair and cackling like a maniac. Chrome's lips slowly turned upwards as well. She could feel the same things Tsuna felt: the euphoric feeling that filled the vacant spaces of the heart emptied by grief.

Calming down, Tsuna patted his knees. "So," he began again, "You said there was something you needed my help with?"

Though her throat still squeezed with emotion, the smile on her face stayed genuine as she shook her head. "Nope."

"Oh." Tsuna scratched the back of his head, dumbfounded. "Really?"

"Really." She reassured, not breaking eye contact. Seeing no lie, he shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

Chrome was so tired, so very worn. But there was someone depending on her - for the first time, she _really_ understood what that meant. Images of the guilt Tsuna would feel afterwards, and Mukuro's face at her funeral, filled her mind.

She couldn't leave them to that. She wouldn't.

They were so content that both the resident and visitor jumped when the door busted open, and Chrome's doctor - followed by a troop of nurses - surged in, surrounding Chrome. "What is going on?" The doctor demanded.

Chrome and Tsuna looked at each other, then the doctor, then each other, then the doctor. They had no clue.

"Your heart rate!" He said exasperatedly, pointing at Chrome. "Twice in the past few hours, it has rapidly escalated. We sent _someone_," here he stopped to glare at a nurse, who sheepishly looked away, "to check on you, but she reported you two were..._indisposed_."

Chrome and Tsuna both began blushing deeply, Chrome looking at her lap as Tsuna tried to stutter out an explanation. He was halted by Chrome's doctor holding up a hand for silence.

"Now listen young man." He started in, rounding on the very embarrassed visitor. "Please understand my patient is in a delicate situation. She needs to focus on rest and recovery. _Not_," His glare deepened, "The amorous flirting of a teenager. We're going to make sure nothing in her system has been aversely affected, so I suggest you leave."

Turning his back to Tsuna, he finished with "Rest assured; if we discover that she has been stimulated _in any way_, you will no longer have the privilege of visiting."

The nurse that had been chastised earlier gave the quickly-paling boy a thumbs up. "We're rooting for you two!" she whispered conspiratorially.

Chrome's face turned redder at almost the same rate Tsuna's lost color. "The two of us..." he whispered. "We weren't...you've got it..."

Noticing the disbelieving looks he was getting, he staged coughed, standing up. "Well, I think it's time I go."

Chrome's head snapped up in surprise. Today's meeting had been dark and heavy, and she'd hoped to have the chance to talk with Tsuna more, about some lighter topics.

Before she could say anything, Tsuna waved. "Relax." he said. "I'll come back soon."

"Promise?" She asked in a small voice.

"Promise." he answered, winking.

He then quickly ran out of the room, not being able to escape the _awws_ fast enough. Chrome was left with the fawning and attentions of her doctor and the nurses, who worked quickly to make sure the elevated heart rate didn't cause anything strange, and that it wasn't a symptom of another problem. Despite the embarrassment of the situation, Chrome had a lot of trouble fighting the smile that struggled to break across her face.

She couldn't wait for Tsuna to come back.

* * *

Tsuna quickly walked down the hallway, his face still pale from the run-in with Chrome's doctor. As he passed a clock, he noted the time, and gulped - _his family was probably sitting down to eat already_. Thinking about how long he'd just been sitting with Chrome caused a certain melancholy to descend on his heart.

He hadn't lied to her once. Chrome really did amaze him. But he'd left out one very important reason for why he was so impressed.

She had never treated him as less then equal. Other girls at his school - especially some of Kyoko's friends - really picked on him, constantly having the boy run errands and do other menial tasks in exchange for allowing him to spend time around his crush. Kyoko, so blissfully unaware, thought it was all a great game and was always laughing at his shenanigans. A few of the guys also pushed him around, taking his money and bruising him when he resisted. Most just watched him with the same aloof glance as Mukuro.

But Chrome was different. She didn't laugh at his stupidity, and always seemed to be interested in what he had to say. He had never felt so gratified in his life.

Which led him to the root of his misery: his botched pep talk. He'd tried to voice every feeling of gratitude he could muster, but halfway through, he realized that he had no right to lecture Chrome on anything. She was the one stuck in the hospital all day long, and she was the one that had to go through the recovery. And he was just spouting some half baked plea, based off what? Not experience or knowledge - it wasn't even out of desire to see her live. More like not wanting to know she had died. But he couldn't think of anything to give Chrome hope. Tsuna didn't regret saving her, and he didn't regret doing what he did to get her to smile - even if it was embarrassing to break down into tears in front of her.

He just needed to know he'd done the right thing for her.

Tsuna worriedly looked back at Chrome's room, where the doctor and nurses still hadn't come out. Not seeing what was in front of him, he bumped into someone else on his way.

With a yelp, Tsuna toppled to the ground, pulling the person he'd ran into down with him, much to their displeasure. The figure that fell onto him was surprisingly light, but Tsuna still felt bony knees and elbows digging into his abdomen as whoever he'd crashed into violently extracted themselves from Tsuna's immediate area. Huffing, they pulled themselves away from him, sitting up.

Tsuna, groaning from the pain of having an elbow dig into the small of his back, tried to push himself up as well, when a cagey and bitter female voice practically spat at him. "_You_."

Halting all attempts to get up, the high schooler finally noticed who he had bumped into. And he could see where Chrome got her looks of displeasure, because her mother was wearing the same exact face as she glared at Tsuna. The frown lines were identical between mother and daughter, though the matriarch's eyes held a condescending glint that differed so much from Chrome's own absent stare that he doubted he would have believed they were related if they passed him on the street.

While Tsuna was petrified, it seemed finally being acknowledged gave the woman fire, and she quickly stood up, brushing imaginary dust off her fur coat while being careful to maintain eye contact with the terrified boy. "You." she repeated, the venom receding from her voice, to be replaced with indifference.

Tsuna tried to say _Hi_, but all that came out was a little squeal. The woman paid no attention. "Are you pestering my daughter again?"

Well, Tsuna doubted anyone would like tutoring him, but he thought his visits were positive, this one not included. "Uh...maybe?"

Her eyes narrowed. "_Maybe._" she mocked. "How horribly uncouth of you. Stand up!" She snapped, her tone making him jump. "Stop lollygaging on the ground, it's disgusting. And straighten your clothes - if we're going to have to talk, I would like something to help me _pretend_ you're civilized."

Tsuna moved to do as she asked, standing up quickly, straightening his clothes and moving to attention like he would in class.

"Look at me!" she barked, when Tsuna stared at the floor. "The linoleum will not suddenly open up and preach enlightenment to you, so there is no need to stare at it with such concentration."

The woman composed herself, and Tsuna - staying in line with what she'd asked - took the time to look at her hairline. He found himself slightly disappointed that it wasn't sharp and zig-zagy. Still, now that he saw the curve of her cheeks and the way her long hair framed her face... "You look a lot like Chrome, you know that?"

Tsuna realized his mistake the moment Chrome's mother turned red as a ruby, glaring at him so intensely he thought a blood vessel was going to pop in her head. He thought she was going to begin yelling, but instead she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, muttering to him "That..._child_...bears no resemblance to me. Do you understand?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Furthermore," the woman took a step towards him, and he took a step back, the wall bumping him from behind, "she has a name, and it is Nagi. You will cease using that foolish childhood nickname this instant."

Tsuna nodded again.

"Good." she hissed, closing the distance between them again, putting herself nose-to-nose with the terrified high schooler. "Now listen closely. You will cease visiting my daughter. You will march out of here as fast as you can, go home, and never think about her again. She is dead to you."

Tsuna gulped, slowly shaking his head. "No..."

"No?" The woman appeared livid. "Did you just say no? I don't think you understand the position you're in, _boy_. Don't you understand you've already done enough!"

That struck a chord in Tsuna, and he flinched - avoiding the spittle that flew at him was a bonus. Chrome's mother picked up on this, and a slimy grin unfolded across her face.

"So much interference you've caused. How selfish of you." She whispered deviously. "Playing the darling hero, rescuing the shy princess. I bet you feel so much better about yourself. Saving a life. How dashing. How brave. How...manly." She ran a hand down his chest, causing him to shiver and look away. Tsuna knew what she was saying was wrong. He didn't know exactly _why_ he saved Chrome, but...wasn't that what people did for other people?

"Now look at all this trouble." Chrome's mother continued to whisper. "How much pain my daughter is suffering in. How much work the medical staff is having to cope with. How much stress is being put on my family. And in the center of all that, week after week..." her voice grew hard. "You show up to waste all our time."

"You're wrong." Tsuna mumbled.

"Am I?" Chrome's mother chuckled. "Boy, my daughter doesn't have any friends. Do you think she enjoys entertaining someone like you, who has constantly pushed their company upon her? Would anyone like being forced to spend time with _you_? Do you like pretending to be special?"

"It's not that!" Tsuna desperately denied, ignoring the part of him that was trying to count the number of people that sought him out in their free time...and drawing blanks.

"Really?" Chrome's mother asked sarcastically. "So you truly care about my daughter's health - my daughter Nagi, whom you've never seen before this? You actually want her to recover?"

"Yes!" Tsuna smiled, relaxing against the wall. Finally she understood-

"Then why do you continue to pose such a health risk to her?" Chrome's mother demanded. The smirk fell off Tsuna's face almost immediately, and his mind blanked. When he didn't respond, Chrome's mother continued.

"Think about all of your visits. Think carefully. Remember each noise made by the machines, every behavior my daughter ever exhibited. Did you really never see the discrepancies? The times where something odd would happen?"

Tsuna thought about the worry the doctor showed when he demanded to know why Chrome's heart rate had gone up. His blood chilled.

"Have you ever considered that you are the cause of my daughter's continuing aliments, stupid boy?" Chrome's mother demanded, stepping back at Tsuna slid down the wall, staring at nothing while his brain connected dots that didn't exist.

"She wanted me to come back." Tsuna said, voice dead.

"My daughter, unlike you, understands polite society." Chrome's mother humphed. "Though I shudder at the thought of her trying to be social."

"I promised..." Tsuna continued.

"So what?" Chrome's mother asked. "What makes you so important to my daughter? Why is the promise of a stranger worth anything?"

Tsuna didn't know. Every visit he'd ever done, every conversation and every face she showed him seemed so different now. Chrome _had_ always been polite - no wonder he'd thought it was weird. And looking at how often he'd asked for her help, it was no surprise that she might be annoyed by his nagging. He'd be lying if he said that the weekly visit was all important to him...no matter how much fun he had spending time with...Nagi...

_Are you actually thinking of leaving her behind?_

Tsuna's heart beat painfully. _Heart..._He had to think about her heart. She was in a dangerous position. If he helped things along by not visiting as often...well, he had video games back home. He wouldn't get bored.

Standing up, he slowly turned away from Chrome's mother, who smiled as she watched him trudge down the hallway.

This didn't change what he thought about...Nagi. Her academic accomplishments couldn't be argued, and even if she was pretending, she still treated him very well. She was a good person underneath the introvert shell, and Tsuna was definitely going to stop back in at some point to see how she was doing.

Definitely. It might not be for a while, but he'd come back. Eventually. When he wasn't too busy. And it would be a good time for her.

Tsuna exited the hospital, looking up at the evening sky and ignoring the bitter, heavy feeling pooling in his heart.

* * *

When Tsuna left her room, Chrome knew she would have to put up with a bit of unhappiness before he came back.

She didn't expect to see her mother at her door less then five minutes later.

The nurses had weaved a kind of hypnotizing dance with their repeated pacing, checking her over and over again, making sure her heart wasn't damaged. She gathered that somehow during the crash, one of the valves may have been damaged, and her heart was straining to maintain its' normal rate. At least, that's what they thought, but they weren't sure, so for now she was going to have to suffer until either her heart healed on its' own or she recovered enough for the hospital to identify the problem, and perform the correct surgery.

No one mentioned the possibility that there might not be a surgery that could fix Chrome's problem, so she was betting that was the actual reason the doctor was calling the nurses off and reseting the equipment, instead of wheeling her to an operating room.

It was during this final, awkward check-up that they heard her mother's snobby voice coming from the hallway. "Oh, what has happened to her _this time_?"

The daze that Chrome had been lulled into broke at the first syllable of her mother's sentence, and she unconsciously straightened out. Not daring to draw any attention to herself, she kept her head lowered, staring at her white-knuckled fists.

Chrome's doctor slowly turned towards the matriarch, schooling his expression to a neutral and professional one. "Nothing. Just a routine check-up, looking to see if complications have appeared. We want to make sure that your daughter has a swift and safe recovery, so she may continue on with her life as soon as possible."

Chrome's mother took a step into the room, eyebrow near her hairline. "Oh? _Just_ a check-up? During visiting hours, and at the end of all of your bimbo nurses shifts?" Huffing and tucking some hair behind her ear, she dismissed the doctor with "I guess I shouldn't have expected much organization from a place like this."

Looking around the room, Chrome's mother became visibly disgusted, pulling out a handkerchief and coughing into it quietly. "I don't suppose this has anything to do with the brat that just fled the room a few minutes back?"

Chrome's jaw clenched. For the first time in a long time, a spark of indignation burned in her chest.

_Beep-Beep...Beep-Beep..._

The doctor took note of her increased heart rate, taking a small step forward of his own to block her mother's advances. "That boy is only one of two regular visitors that my patient has. And I assure you that his actions have helped your daughter far more then they've harmed."

"Are you sure?" Chrome's mother asked. "Because from what I gathered during my talk with him, he seemed to be feeling very guilty about...whatever goes on in the room. Heaven knows, I don't care."

_Beep-Beep, Beep-Beep_

"What did you say?"

All eyes turned to Chrome, who was staring at her mother, no longer caring about being in the background. "What did you say to him?" she asked, with trepidation dripping from her voice.

Chrome's mother smirked, pulling her face into a twisted expression, looking down her nose at her own daughter, pleasure emanating from every word she spoke. "Ring a bell enough while feeding a dog, and soon the dog will salivate at nothing more then the clanking of a little toy between your fingers. Some of us preferred to study modern sciences, rather then the old mistakes of people long dead. And I must tell you, that coward wore his heart on his sleeve."

Shivering at some sadistic pleasure, the matriarch nearly squealed "Oh, it was _so easy_ to play on his insecurity. The self-loathing, the lack of confidence. The second guessing. It was obvious he was looking for both a reason to take the blame for your injuries, and an excuse to run away and not come back." Watching Chrome begin to shake, her smile grew wider. "I was able to give him both without much effort."

Walking around the doctor, strutting to the foot of Chrome's bed, her mother sighed. "I'm afraid you'll never see that boy again. It's just you and me now."

Pulling her feet away from her mother as best she could, Chrome shook her head and spoke with a strength she didn't feel. "You're wrong. He'll come back."

The change in her mother was instant. The grin on her face fell into a deep frown, her eyebrows narrowing into a glare. When she spoke, it was with a hissing growl. "_What did you say?_"

_Beep-Beep Beep-Beep Beep-Beep Beep-Beep_

Chrome curled her body into a ball, pulling the sheet up to her chest, paling in fear. Her mother leaned over the footboard. "Did you say I was wrong? That is the second time in the past ten minutes that I have been questioned by a foolish, useless little slimeball, and it is starting to infuriate me-"

"Enough!" Chrome's doctor barked, finally intervening. Her mother reared back up, directing her glare at the man. He matched her stare perfectly, his voice returning to its' even and quiet volume. "My patient is worn out, and needs rest. I am ending her visiting hours immediately. Please leave."

Chrome's mother slowly looked between the doctor and the patient. Not able to think of something else to say, she gave her daughter one last look over: Curled up against her head board, almost completely hidden under her sheet and watching her with what looked like fear.

"Pitiful." she spat, holding her head high and walking out of the room, ignoring the looks from the nurses or Chrome's doctor. She slammed the door behind her, leaving a strained atmosphere in her wake.

Chrome, feeling lightheaded, unfurled herself into a more comfortable resting position, repeating the mantra in her head. _Tsuna will be back. He promised. Tsuna promised he'd come back..._

* * *

For a month, nothing happened. The sun rose in the east, and set in the west. The birds awoke to hunt worms and sing songs Chrome could only try to imitate. Outside her window, Shofi's garden inhaled and exhaled with life, glowing in comparison to her own confinement. There seemed to be an impassable barrier that spanned her west facing wall: The only thing that ever came through her window was sunlight, and she was never able to stand up out of bed or reach the lilac bushes on her own.

Mukuro wouldn't help her, as he explained multiple times. "Your body is still rebuilding itself." He would say with a smile and a pat on the head. "Just give it some more time, and then you'll be able to spend as long outside as you want."

He did his best to distract her however he could. He visited whenever he could escape the mansion or his cram school, bringing games they used to pass the time, and books to help her get to sleep. He would even sit in Tsuna's chair and do homework the same way her other visitor did while Chrome surfed the web and caught up on her cell-phone romance novels.

It was during one such visit - with Mukuro bent over an economics textbook and Chrome flicking across the pages on her tablet - that the oddest sensation came over the bored reader. It felt like a creature was climbing up her esophagus, leaving raw and burnt tissue below it. Her vision swam, and her head pulsed with nausea. As if sensing it had been discovered, the creature shot up her throat into her mouth, and the only thing stopping Chrome from losing her breakfast all over herself was a reflexive covering of the mouth.

The stench of bile rolled up into her nose, and her stomach began twisting in painful directions. Chrome broke out into a cold sweat as she struggled not to vomit, doubling over in pain. Noticing something was wrong, Mukuro was on his feet, hands at her shoulders, gently pulling her against his body. "Is there anything I can do?" he whispered into her ear.

Convulsing in pain, she used her other hand to motion at the big, red, 'Call Nurse' button. Without a second thought her older brother pushed it, before wrapping her back up in a hug and humming a flat tune to try and soothe her.

The nurse arrived almost immediately, sticking her head in. She looked with increasing worry between the two siblings. Mukuro just smiled and winked at her. "Could you be a doll and grab a bucket for my cute little sister?"

The nurse nodded, looking as pale as her patient, fleeing down the hallway as quickly as she could. The siblings heard a _snap_, followed by some audible whining.

"She broke a heel." Mukuro said disbelievingly, staring after the nurse. "...What a bimbo."

Chrome's shoulders shook a bit more then normal, and she shot Mukuro a playful glare before her eye squeezed shut again.

"Oh, you know it was funny." he chastised, flicking a lock of her hair.

The nurse came stumbling back, hobbling into the room with a uneven gait. Mukuro was quick to notice that she was wearing only one shoe.

At the sight of the bucket, Chrome made a desperate lunge, and the nurse reached her and Mukuro as the perfect time, for just as the brother was able to pull away, the sister let everything she had been holding back go.

The wise-crack remark died on Mukuro's lips when he saw the blood mixed in with the vomit.

Both he and the nurse stared with twisted fascination into the bucket. "That's not good." He commented.

"Well, yeah." The nurse drawled back.

Chrome leaned back, the lights in the room suddenly too bright and buzzing too loud. She thought about licking up the bead of blood that eked out of the corner of her mouth, but decided she felt drained enough as it was, and she would rather just sleep for a few days.

A displeasured muttering kept her from sinking into blissful slumber however, so she slowly rolled her head to the doorway.

Her mother looked past the nurse and Mukuro, focusing on the sick girl for a few moments before huffing again and leaving.

The sight of her mother brought back the memories of their last encounter, and with it the one thought that had been consistent in her brain since _he_ failed to show up on his normal weekend time.

_I wonder how Tsuna is doing..._

* * *

After many weeks, Chrome could feel the apathy return full force. She supposed it should have been a comforting thing. She'd spent nearly every waking hour since she was a small child surrounded in a form-fitting cloak of disinterest, because she and her mother had never agreed on what actually interested her. So she should have heralded the return of such a constant part of her with as much rejoice as she could, but now she was just disheartened.

In her first two months in the hospital, something had begun to 'grow back', something that she'd lost when her mother deemed it time she begin acting like a lady. _He_, without ever realizing it, had opened up a part of her heart, and every moment after that had done their best to wither it away. That thought caused even more depression to circle around her head, but she probably could have fought if off with Mukuro's help, if she hadn't been paid a special visit.

She'd been trying to get to sleep, ignoring the discomfort in her abdomen and random cold flashes. The sun was on the horizon, casting her room into shadow, which was the only reason Chrome noticed the change in light. Her door swung open, the fluorescents from the hall blinding her.

And for a moment, her heart skipped a beat, the same way it always did now when someone stopped at her door. For a split second, she imagined a spiky and untamed mane wiggling into view, his awkward smile with a nervous head scratch to go with it, some quaint apology about taking so long to get back, with muttered excuses and embarrassed blushes. He would be missing his backpack, because by this time he'd be done with summer lessons, so he would fumble about what to do for a moment. But they would figure something out, right?

However, he was not the figure in her doorway, and her heart plummeted just a little farther then it had the time before. It shattered when the figure stepped in past the blinding light.

"M...mother..." Chrome struggled to sit up, a cold flash freezing her in place. She could already feel the sweat on her cheeks.

"_Don't_ call me that, you useless child." _that woman_ snapped, looking back out the hallway, making sure no one else was in sight, before slowly closing the door. Turning, Chrome could see a change in the older woman's mood - her eyes were darting around the room, and a small, sick smile was on her face. She seemed excited, which frighted the girl even more.

_That woman_ looked around the room, eyes lingering in the corners, staring intently. "No cameras..." she finally muttered to herself. "Well isn't that lovely."

She approached the bed, and a primal fear began welling up inside Chrome, pushing down the nausea and cold flashes. The girl backed up to the opposite side of the bed, hovering on the edge, about to roll off. Her eyes flickered to the 'call nurse' button. She didn't want to be alone with this woman.

Seeing Chrome's movements, her mother _tut-tut_'d her. "Now now, let's not do anything unnecessary." She carefully covered the button with her hand. "We wouldn't want things to get out of control, would we?"

Her mother seemed off; that was the only way Chrome could put it. Her normally aloof and biting mother now acted downright devilish, as if possessed. The expensive coat that she normally wore so fashionably was left open and frumpy, hiding her shape, with her makeup looking hastily thrown onto her face. And the slasher smile she sported was so unlike her...

Her hand still blocking the 'call nurse' button, Chrome's mother reached into her jacket. Chrome's heart rate accelerated quickly, like a drumbeat reverberating around the entire room.

"Don't be scared." her mother cooed. "You're alone with dear old me. I promise that everything will be okay very soon..."

Chrome heard a quiet _click_, and with a scream, she rolled off the bed. Pads and wires that had been hooked up to her body tried to hold her back for a moment, but either ripped off or simply disconnected from her body. An IV was pulled down with her, clattering to the ground, the whine of Chrome's heart rate monitor flatlining acting as a kind of air raid siren.

Stinging where she'd been unceremoniously pulled from the machines, Chrome curled into the fetal position and closed her eye tight.

Her mother, meanwhile, seemed to go back to normal, her pinched glare sliding into place the millisecond she heard Chrome's machinery come to life. Looking between the edge of the bed Chrome had rolled off of, and the machinery that was causing so much noise, the woman quietly swore, closing her jacket up and quickly rounding the bed, looking down on the crouching form at her feet. The red lights flashing about the room glided over her face again and again, showing flashes of her lips tightening to a white line, her jaw quivering in unspent anger.

She lunged down, grabbing her daughter by the shoulders, hissing in her ear. "Why don't you just give this up? Don't you understand that you've been abandoned? That boy is _never _coming back! One day soon, your brother will realize what is good for him, and concentrate on his studies! And if you think for one moment there is a spot at my table for you..."

The woman growled, grinding her teeth. "Then you have learned nothing."

When Chrome showed no signs of acknowledgement, still wrapped in as tight a ball as she could physically do, eye squeezed shut, the woman grew violent, digging her fingers into the young girl's bony shoulders and shaking her as hard as she could, yelling in her face "Look at me! Look at me, you damn useless whore!"

Chrome whimpered, struggling to not be tossed like a rag doll. That just made her mother angrier, shaking the poor girl harder, yelling unintelligible babble at her.

Above them, the lights suddenly flicked on. "What's going on?" The voice of Chrome's doctor washed over the bed. Chrome's mother froze in place, before letting her go and slowly standing up, fixing her hair and taking a deep breath.

"You." the doctor's accusatory voice pierced through the silent air.

"Your patient is injured." the woman said. "It seems after all this time, you still are not doing your job properly."

"Call the police." the doctor ordered someone - presumably a nurse - who immediately took off down the hall.

"Don't bother, fetish fuel!" Chrome's mother yelled after the fleeing worker. "You'll only be wasting your breath."

"You," Chrome's doctor hissed, sounding angry beyond measure. "Are to leave this room immediately."

Her mother just slowly looked the man over, giving him only a bored stare before moving past him. "That is very difficult to do with your girth blocking the way."

Watching her go, the doctor quickly looked down at his belly, which was by no means large. Dismissing the woman, he rounded the bed, softly swearing as well when he finally saw Chrome. Carefully, he slipped his arms underneath her, picking her up and laying her back on the bed, mindful of the wires and pads that had been ripped off her. Leaning over, he turned off the heart monitor, patting the top of it with a grateful smile. "Keep doing your job." he spoke to it. "And keep warning us when things get dangerous."

A quiet muttering floated into his ears, and he started, looking at the machine intently. Realizing the equipment wasn't talking back to him, he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, looking at the girl lying on the bed and shaking his head sadly.

No tears flowed from her eye, and no sob escaped her mouth, but it was with all the heartbreak in the world that she called out for "Br-brother...Tsuna..."

* * *

In the back of her mind, a sly voice asked herself _Why did I throw away that scalpel again?_

Chrome stared up at the ceiling of her hospital room. The birds had stopped singing outside her window hours ago, and she could tell from the shadows the tree casted into her room that it was well past midday.

She heard the door slowly creak open, and sighed. The nurses liked to peak in on her 'randomly' throughout the day, to make sure she was 'feeling okay'. They'd gotten worried when one of the people cleaning her room had found a few sketches Chrome had drawn of gravestones that had her name on it. They'd confiscated the drawings and had kept a careful eye on what she was doing since. Which Chrome didn't think was very fair; she had just been doodling some of the older favorites she had memorized. She hadn't had one of _those_ dreams since...well, since before getting into the hospital.

For a while she had thought they might start up again, after her mother's last visit. She'd been inconsolable ever since, with Mukuro's attempts to distract her only earning tired smiles and half-hearted attempts. She'd fully expected to begin dreaming of her own death once again, but after a few nights of tomb-less serenades, she began to wonder where the inner strength came from.

It came back to that question: _Why did I throw the scalpel away?_

Chrome began tapping her thumbs to the beat of a J-pop song she'd heard a few days before the accident. By now it was probably off the charts and forgotten. She wondered why the nurse was taking so long to make her presence known - normally they pop up after a few seconds of spying.

She had surprised herself with the vibrancy of her answers. Each day, it seemed like a new explanation popped into her head. The one that always calmed her heart was the one that Tsuna had helped her discover. _I threw it away because there are people that need me_.

Thinking about Tsuna pushed her line of thinking in a new direction. By now, he would have started his next year of high school. Chrome wondered what grade he was in - the lessons he had been taking over the summer weren't a very good guide, since he was apparently taking classes below his the level of his peers, and she had passed them long ago. Were they in the same grade? Or was he one above her?

She really hoped her tutoring had helped him pass his classes. It would be a shame to keep someone like him from succeeding. In fact, she hoped he got everything he ever wanted, because he gave her everything _she_ had ever wanted - a confidant. It may have been a little presumptuous to call him that, even if they'd only spoken a little over half a dozen times, but Chrome felt they were close.

The patient closed her eye, feeling faintly irritated that the nurse still hadn't come in yet. It was messing with her train of thought. Where was she? Oh, yes, Tsuna.

She'd thought about him a lot in the month since her mother's visit. She'd especially wondered if she was approaching things from the right direction. Before, finding out why Tsuna had saved her life had seemed like such and important goal, but as time passed, Chrome began to think that maybe the _why_ wasn't so important after all. She wondered if it would be best to just let it go.

Her thumb tapping stopped, and she sighed again. That nurse was obviously just going to stand there, and Chrome was tired of the feeling she was being watched secretly. "You can come in now." she said.

"Ah...okay."

Chrome's eye snapped open, her heart skipping a beat. That was not the voice of a nurse.

An untamed mane wiggled into her view, an awkward grin nearly blinding her. With a nervous head scratch, her visitor mumbled "Hey Chrome...been a while, huh? A few months...um, sorry for taking so long to get back here...Family stuff, pretty boring, and school kinda got in the way sometimes...not that I should have been stopped for this long..."

He trailed off, the apology fading from his lips. Slowly, Chrome stood out of bed, holding the side railing for support, looking him up and down. "Tsuna..." she whispered in awe.

For there he stood, in a new fall school uniform, a real smile shining in his face, the sunlight once again glinting off his eyes in that way special way. "Hey Chrome." he greeted back warmly. "It's been a long time. How have you be-EEEN!"

Chrome flung her arms around him, hugging him around the neck and pulling him close. "You're back." she mumbled into his collar bone.

Chrome solemnly swore to herself to stop trying to find out why Tsuna saved her. Because since his last visit, she had slowly come to realize that it didn't matter. It never had. Instead of being so worried and always asking _why_, she should just let herself be swept up in her new bond, and focus on showing Tsuna every day how much he had done for her.

"Yeah." he said. "I'm back. I'll always come back."

His arms came up as well, hugging her close.

* * *

He had never felt so ashamed in his life. Over three months had passed by, with Chrome whittling away in this sterilized hospital. And what had he done, instead of visiting her?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. He'd played video games with his younger siblings. He'd panicked over homework. He'd gone out on get together's with Kyoko and her friends. Mostly though, he'd sat on his family's couch and drank juice.

Chrome had been in his thoughts, of course. When he got back his tests from his summer classes, and had scored more then thirty points on all of them, he'd thought of Chrome. When he watched his younger sister run by, he'd thought of Chrome. It had gotten so bad that looking at fruit would cause him to think of the girl recuperating at Shofi. After a while, all those thoughts overpowered even the lasting fear of Chrome's mother, and he swore to visit Chrome. But the few times he could actually be bothered to get up and get out of the house, a true family event _actually_ kept him from leaving the house. Maybe he had to wash the dishes, or help prepare the house for his dad's boss coming over.

So days turned to weeks turned to...this. When he woke up one morning after the fall term had began, and realized an entire season had passed since he's last seen the purple-headed girl, his heart had dropped to his feet.

Tsuna had stood next to the trees turned gold by fall outside Shofi for an hour, trying to work up the nerve to go inside. Every step he took towards Chrome's room had caused him to question the wisdom of what he was doing more and more. He was terribly afraid she was going to throw something at him, or yell in his face, or just not talk to him at all. He felt that being ignored would probably be the worst.

It was his trepidation that kept him from knocking on the door. Instead, he just slowly opened it, glancing inside to try and catch a glimpse of the girl he hadn't seen in a fourth of a year.

The second thing he noticed was that she looked healthier. She wasn't as pale, her gown had filled out - as in more meat had gotten on her bones, though Tsuna would be lying if he said he didn't look - and her hair looked longer and fuller. There was even less bandages then there had been his last visit, to the point where the only thing that let him know she was hurt at all was the braces still on her arms and probably her legs, though he couldn't see those.

But the first thing he noticed? The dead expression she wore while staring at the ceiling.

When she called out to him, he'd thought he was in serious trouble. He fully expected her to be angry, to flip out and throw him out of the room. But instead, she greeted him warmly, with open arms.

And now Tsuna wished she would yell at him. Because when she hugged him, he could feel the way she shook, and he could barely breathe through her grip. She was clinging to him, a source of light in an otherwise dark world. She was acting like she depended on him.

He'd never felt so low in his life as he did at that moment.

So as he hugged her back, he swore that he'd become worthy of that dependency. He'd become someone that could back up that trust. He'd be there for her, because in that moment, he realized that this wasn't just him visiting her out of obligation anymore. He didn't come back just because she wanted him to. He came back because that's what _he_ wanted. She had become an important person in his life - _the_ most important person, as far as he was concerned.

And he'd be damned if he was going to let her down.

* * *

_**I hoped you liked this one, despite how different it is from how your situation went. It is only recently that I've learned how important family is. I don't think I would be half the man I am today if my parents hadn't been as loving as they are, especially during all the moves we've had to deal with. I think part of why I can write Chrome's mother this way is because she is everything my mother isn't. Also, that little blurb from Tsuna at the end of the chapter is allegorical to my own revelations when it has come to writing. It's only been in the last six months that I've truly come to understand how important creating stories is. The power of the written word is enormous, and I was fooling around with it like a kid that stole daddy's shotgun. Not understanding a thing. I push a fair amount of credit to me shaping up in your general direction, however unintentional it may have been on your part.**_

_**I am holding off on reading your story till I'm done with this, as a proverbial carrot at the end of the stick. Considering that another author whom I greatly respect recommended it to me right out of the gate, I'm sure I'll love it.**_

* * *

**And there is part 2! We've reached the halfway point for this story. This chapter was actually much longer in word count then I'd thought it would be...but if you want specific thoughts on the chapter, please check out my profile. In the meantime, I will get started on the second half of this - I plan to have this story wrapped up before August, so expect the update sometime in the next... two, three weeks?**


	3. Tonight

The sun set under the horizon, pulling down the curtain of night. Snowflakes fell like dancing partners, cartwheeling through the air and collecting in drifts around Shofi, which had finally taken down all of its' New Years decorations.

Inside, Tsuna sped-read the paper he was holding, whispering to himself. "Move all the variable to one side, subtract two, carry the seven, divide by nine, cross multiply, cancel everything out..."

He handed the paper to the teen sitting next to him. "The answer is six?"

Mukuro scanned through the paper. "Nope."

"What?" Tsuna collapsed into his chair, groaning and hiding his face with his hands.

"You forgot Bernoulli's Principal. You needed to divide again." Mukuro tossed the paper back at his feet. "Nice try."

Tsuna wearily picked his homework up, getting ready to erase his answer when it was snatched out of his hands. Chrome looked the paper over, sending a glare at her brother. "Liar. This is the correct answer."

"It is?!" Tsuna straightened up, smiling. "I got it right?"

The smile disappeared, and he quickly turned towards Mukuro. "What about Bernoulli's Principal?"

"That's a science concept dealing with pressure." Chrome answered for her brother. "It has _nothing _to do with what you're doing."

"Oh." Tsuna shuffled his paper in with some others. "I see."

"No, actually, you don't." Mukuro said, grabbing one of the papers Tsuna was holding - ignoring his weary sigh - and reading it with interest. "I believe that is the problem."

He handed it back to Tsuna. _Job application?_ he mouthed.

_Repay my dad._ Tsuna mouthed back. Mukuro rose an eyebrow. Tsuna pulled a new phone out of his pocket. Mukuro nodded, understanding.

"Brother." Chrome said sharply, interrupting their silent conversation. "Apologize."

He looked to his sister, putting on his puppy-dog face. "But-"

"_Apologize_."

Sighing, he turned to Tsuna. "Very well. Tsunayoshi, I apologize that your education up till now has been remiss-"

"_Brother!_"

"Fine, fine." he waved his hand, as if hoping that would hold her off if she decided to attack. "I really am sorry Tsunayoshi, and I promise not to do it again."

Both Tsuna and Chrome stared at him for a minute.

"Liar." they said. Mukuro mimed being shot in the heart.

"I've been caught once again!" he cried.

Chrome looked like she wanted to say more, but instead yawned. She tried to stifle it with a hand as it went on and on, like a whale burping across the ocean. When she slowly stopped, the patient noticed that both men were staring at her with looks of shock.

"That was..." Tsuna trailed off.

Mukuro tried to help. "Remarkable, awe-inspiring, surprising, frightening, unnatural, ear popping, belly aching, awkward, powerful, nauseating, vibrating, strange?"

"...Loud." Tsuna settled on. Mukuro sniffed.

"I guess that would work." he reluctantly agreed, packing his bag and slipping his jacket over his shoulders. "Shall we leave Chrome to rest?"

Tsuna stood from his chair, miming Mukuro's actions. "Sounds good to me." Nodding at the embarrassed Chrome, he smiled. "See you later."

"Have a good night." Mukuro added, pushing Tsuna towards the exit.

"Bye." Chrome waved to both men before Mukuro shut the door.

As they walked away, Tsuna glanced back. "She's looking better."

Mukuro searched through his jacket pockets, pulling out his cell phone. "The doctors are saying her recovery has improved significantly over the past three months, though she still struggles with physical therapy."

"Is her shoulder still bothering her?" Tsuna asked empathetically.

"Yes, and her legs. But the biggest worry still seems to be her abdomen." Mukuro quickly scrolled through his messages before shutting off his phone and slipping it into his pocket. "It can't take much stress, and the damage to some of her organs seems permanent. They're already predicting that Chrome will have trouble digest...For God's sake."

"What?" Tsuna looked around, glancing down the hallway, seeing what was bothering Mukuro. "Oh great..."

Mukuro picked up his pace, fixing a big grin and saying with as much fake cheer as he could muster "Mother! How surprising to run into you here."

The older woman flicked her neck in displeasure, throwing her silver hair behind her head. "Mukuro. I see you are once again-"

"Wasting time, yes, yes, I know you disapprove of my visits, may we please skip that part of the conversation?" Mukuro asked, bowing mockingly as if it would speed them past this stage. Tsuna came up on his side, incredulous.

"Her? _Not_ take the opportunity to insult Chrome?" Tsuna shuffled his feet, muttering "Good luck."

Chrome's mother looked the Namimori student up and down. "I see you returned, despite all the trouble you have caused my daughter."

Tsuna nodded at his feet. "I see _you_ returned, despite all the trouble you have caused your daughter."

Her eyes narrowed. "You think yourself clever-"

"No, otherwise I would have said something clever." Tsuna looked up to Mukuro.

Mukuro took another step forward, knitting his hands together, still pleading with her in that exaggerated tone of his. "Mother, I think now would be a bad time to visit Chrome - she is currently resting, and guest hours are almost over. After all, we do know how you _love_ to respect those two tenets of hospital visitation, don't we?"

Tsuna pointed at Mukuro. "See? Like that."

The woman looked between the two of them. "So this is how you treat your elders?"

Mukuro looked at Tsuna in surprise. "Have we done something wrong?"

"I don't think so." Tsuna scratched the back of his head. "But maybe we should check with another elder, to see exactly what we're not doing right?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Mukuro said thoughtfully, standing with his chin in his hand for a moment. He snapped his fingers, smiling. "I know! We can check with Chrome's doctor! I saw him on duty earlier."

"Yeah!" Tsuna agreed. "That would be a great idea. I'm sure he would love to know that Chrome's mom is here - he probably has a lot that he would want to discuss about Chrome's treatment."

The two men looked back at Chrome's mother. "We can go get him right now, if you'd like." Mukuro offered.

She looked between them again, humphing. "Cheeky brats, aren't you?"

* * *

Chrome peeked her head out from her hospital room again. Tsuna, Mukuro, and her mother were still talking, but no one was moving, so that was probably good.

Her mother looked like she was ready to slap someone, but instead restrained herself, making a few more insults that Chrome couldn't hear before turning around and leaving.

Chrome breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad that Tsuna and Mukuro were able to drive her mother off. It had happened a few times over the months since Tsuna's return: Later at night, towards the end of visiting hours, her mother would appear to try and see her. Every time, Tsuna and Mukuro had been able to head the unwelcome guest off before she reached the room, but Chrome's heart still skipped a beat when the three of them started talking. Old habits die hard.

She returned to her bed and got comfortable, thinking about how much fun that day had been. Mukuro had a bad habit of teasing her and Tsuna, but did his best to bring a smile to her face, and Tsuna was always bringing fresh views and ideas to the both of them. He really was a great...

She stumbled a bit climbing into bed, carefully breathing in and out as she readjusted the tubes going into her arm, blocking the small stabs of pain shooting up from her legs.

Here Chrome's thoughts slowed, and she struggled with something she had struggled with night after night for a while now: trying to find Tsuna's label. She'd tested out many, but none of them fit. 'Companion' was too archaic, 'Confidant' was too awkward to say, 'Surrogate Brother' didn't work because he acted nothing like her real brother.

Mukuro had suggested two 'obvious' labels one day when it was just the two of them. The first one felt too impersonal and generic for what Tsuna was to her, and the second was embarrassing. It implied uncomfortable things about Chrome's feelings.

So she just wouldn't think about it anymore. She really was feeling tired...

* * *

The Rokudo matriarch turned around, walking towards the parking lot, not glancing back at the two teens once, even when Mukuro called out after her "Please do control your temper on the way home, now! We wouldn't want you getting into an accident and damaging your car again!"

They watched her finish stomping out of sight. Tsuna pulled his jacket tighter. "Is she always that bad?"

"Yes and no." Mukuro zipped up his own jacket. "Normally she's horrible to be around, but the past six months she's been downright nasty."

As they continued toward the exit - Tsuna throwing a quick wave to the receptionist - Mukuro continued, his explanation growing almost into a rant. "Normally life at home is bearable, because Mother does everything she can to ignore Chrome's existence, and I've grown used to her doting. At the table, I would just have to bring up something at school, and Chrome could eat quickly, then we'd sneak out to the garden and relax until bed. But ever since the accident, Mother has been all about Chrome, always staring at her picture, constantly asking me if I've visited her, and how she's doing, and when they think she'll be released. Not to mention all the times she's tried to get in to see her one on one - you've been here, you know just how often that is."

"And the mood swings!" Mukuro exclaimed, slipping on gloves. "Mother before was always in control of herself, she just loved the thought of being the powerful one, but now she flies off the handle with the slightest provocation. She's almost like a boss creature from a survival horror game, creeping down the halls and waiting till you're not paying attention to spring on you. She never leaves anymore, you know - if she isn't trying to get into Shofi, then she's always at home, cooping herself up in the mansion, curtains drawn, phone off, avoiding human contact like a disease...until one of her mood swings come on. She won't even go cruising around in that silver beast of a car she owns, despite having it fixed ages past."

"Wait, wait." Tsuna held up a hand to try and get Mukuro to slow down and take a breath. "You mean your mother was once so angry she actually crashed her car? Are you kidding?"

From the look on Mukuro's face, he could tell the wealthy teen wasn't kidding.

"And, you say she's...'cooped up in a mansion'? That's possible?"

Mukuro nodded. "Oh yes. Though Chrome would be able to tell you better then I."

They exited the hospital, looking up at the stars. "Chrome..." Tsuna muttered.

He blew a puff of air into the winter night, watching it freeze as it left his mouth. "Hey, Mukuro. Your mother's changes...the mood swings, the shut in, the obsession with Chrome..."

Looking him in the eye, Tsuna asked "Do you think it's because she's worried about her daughter?"

Mukuro stared at him blankly. Tsuna stared back. Silence whistled between them with the wind.

They both burst into laughter, Tsuna doubling over, Mukuro having to wipe his eyes once. Their jovial roars echoed up and down the street.

Chuckling, Mukuro patted Tsuna on the shoulder as the other teen straightened. "Never let anyone tell you that you lack humor."

"Uh-huh." Tsuna smiled, catching his breath. "See you later, Mukuro."

"Have a good night, Tsunayoshi."

* * *

"...so she drops the toad, and starts yelling about warts." Mukuro smiled. "In her panic, she goes running over to the nearest cloth surface - the sheets hanging out to dry - and starts wiping toad slime all over them in an attempt to get it off her."

Tsuna groaned. "Oh no."

Chrome crossed her arms and looked away, pointedly staring out her window and pouting, ignoring the two guests. They did their best to ignore her too, continuing on their conversation.

"That sounds pretty bad, but I think I've got it beat." Tsuna leaned forward, as if telling an important secret. "So my family went hiking up the mountain just outside of town, okay? My littlest sibling insisted on calling it a training mission, and was constantly getting me to run around after him while he 'trained' me. My parents, being my parents, thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen, then went back to watching the local wildlife, leaving me in charge of watching three toddlers and a little kid, with only one set of helping hands."

"How many children are in your family?" Mukuro asked.

"Well, including me, there's six." Tsuna started counting them off his fingers. "I'm just about to turn eighteen, Basil is fifteen, Fuuta is twelve, Lambo is eight, I-pin is seven and a half, and Reborn is three. All of them like to be troublemakers, though Basil seems to do it on accident, and I-pin really does try to be helpful."

"Six boys?" Mukuro mused. "Your mother must have a handful."

"Actually, I-pin is a girl." Tsuna corrected.

"Must be a tough life." Chrome muttered to herself, still not looking at them. Tsuna didn't argue, continuing his story where he'd left off.

"Anyway, Basil and I are doing our best to keep an eye on all of the different small children running around, but we lose sight of Lambo. At first, no one really panicked, because Lambo goes running off on his own all the time anyway. But after about an hour, we started getting genuinely worried. We all start searching for him, and eventually we find him sitting in front of a huge cave, complaining about how dark and smelly it was. We thought that would be the end of it, but Lambo must have been really scared of the dark. When we weren't paying attention, he picked up the emergency flare gun Dad had brought, and fired it into the far back of the cave."

Mukuro waited a few moments. "All right, I will ask: So what?"

Tsuna grimaced. "What none of us learned until later was, at the very back of that large cave was a methane spring. That's what Lambo was smelling."

Chrome's head snapped to him. "And he fired a flare back there?"

Mukuro continued. "Well then the cave must have-"

"Exploded." Tsuna nodded his head. "Remember that huge forest fire that was all over the news two summers ago?"

Chrome and Mukuro stared at him as the implication settled in their minds.

"Seriously?" Chrome asked.

Tsuna nodded again.

Slowly, Mukuro smiled. "Well, I can't beat you in magnitude, that's for sure. But if we want to talk about public vandalism, there was an incident where Chrome, when she was six, kicked out a leg at one of the stalls during the Tanataba festival, causing the entire thing to collapse."

Now it was Tsuna who was looking incredulously at Chrome, who once again was not meeting their eyes. "Seriously?" he parroted.

"They didn't want to give me cotton candy." She said tersely.

"Oh, it was everywhere, Tsunayoshi." Mukuro said, reveling in his sister's embarrassment. "All over the floor, the man running the stall...it was like a cloud had landed upon the ground, in all its' sweet sugary goodness."

Mukuro threaded his hands together, smiling mischievously. "Can you beat that one?"

Tsuna looked at him carefully. "Yeah..." he said slowly. "Yeah, I can."

Collecting his thoughts, he began, and Mukuro's face slid from one of victory to shock. "So Lambo, Reborn, the university student that's renting a bedroom, and I all went to this sushi restaurant. Mom and Dad had given me a little allowance to order for my two brothers, but we wouldn't be getting the most expensive things on the menu. At least, I thought; I asked the uni student to keep an eye on the two kids while they order so I could go to the bathroom. When I came back, everyone had already sat and begun eating, so I order, and sit down to enjoy my own sushi."

"Lambo was being Lambo, just eating the wrappers, and Reborn was munching down with this fiendish expression on his face. A little while later, when the bills got dropped off, they all got passed to me, and I noticed that my siblings had ordered the most expensive meals they could. While I was distracted by the price, this uni student grabbed Reborn, and fled for the exit. Lambo tried to get up and run too, but he ran the opposite direction, right into the kitchens. Realizing he was probably going to get caught, Lambo started screaming his head off, flailing his arms around. He ended up knocking into one of the chefs, pushing him over and causing a domino effect that ended with three weeks worth of sushi soaking wet, an oven broken, and ice all over the floor."

Leaning back, Tsuna shrugged. "But no one was hurt, so we at least got a little lucky. And I was able to get Lambo out of there before we could be identified..."

"You mean you ran without paying?" Chrome asked.

Tsuna defended with "I left behind all the money I could."

Chrome didn't say anything in reply, just watching with an appraising expression as Tsuna squirmed. Mukuro caught both their attention by chuckling.

"If we are talking about messy stories..." Mukuro looked at Chrome once, and she flushed. Pointing a warning finger at him, she said in as threatening a tone as she could muster "Don't you dare, Brother."

Ignoring his sister's posturing, with as bemused a look on his face as Tsuna had ever seen, he continued "Once, our entire family was invited to a company dinner and after-party. It was with all the important executives, and our father was one of the best. Naturally we had to be in attendance. Now, I was by my father's side for most of the party, so I didn't actually witness what happened. But towards the end of the night, as Father was in the process of pandering with other company representatives, a very young Chrome came barreling over, rocketing into his leg and clinging on for dear life, sobbing."

"Oh my." Tsuna looked between the two siblings. Chrome refused to even look at him, staring into her bed sheets with her face covered. On the other hand, Mukuro was more then willing to grin at him, glowing with amusement. "So what happened?"

Mukuro laughed quietly. "That was the question on all our minds. Finally, Chrome looked up at Father, and in the most broken hearted, pained tone she could muster, sobbed out," Mukuro's voice became squeaky and high pitched, "_I got boy-juice spilled on my face, and it tastes nasty!_"

The older brother cackled with laughter, while the younger sister crawled underneath her sheets, a muffled "It's not funny!" floating to Tsuna and Mukuro.

The Namimori student pulled at his collar, fighting a smirk. "...Boy-juice...huh..."

Chrome's head poked out, her glare causing Tsuna to stiffen. "I didn't know what else to call it, okay? I'd never tasted it before, but it was bitter, and had been squirted all over my face - _stop laughing!_"

Mukuro's cackles had intensified, causing him to topple to the ground, clutching his stomach as he convulsed. Chrome turned her glare on him now, speaking louder. "It wasn't funny! Father had just bought me that new dress, and it already had stains on the front - my mouth felt all slimy and sticky -"

"You're doing this on purpose." Mukuro gasped out from the floor. Chrome reached for a pillow to smack him over the head with, but before she could lunge, Tsuna grabbed her hand.

His eyes flicked to her heart rate monitor, which was reaching dangerous levels, and then back to Chrome. He imagined he could watch her face throbbing in time with her pulse. "Relax." he said in a disarming voice. "If it makes you feel any better, I had a similar experience when I was a kid."

"Really?" Chrome asked, heart rate beginning to go down, dropping the pillow back in place as Mukuro crawled back up onto his chair.

"This I have to hear." he said, regaining his composure after one last mirth filled glance at Chrome.

"Yeah. Very similar." Tsuna smiled sheepishly. "My dad's a pretty high-up accountant for the company he works at, so he gets invited to a lot of the company galas. I remember that this one event was really important, because it would be the first time the families would be invited along, so Dad was all about making sure everyone was ready - at the time it was just me and two little brothers, but only Basil was well mannered; I was clumsy and Fuuta was a toddler. We were all a little paranoid when we arrived at this expensive looking parlor. My parents were constantly looking us over, always breathing down our necks to make sure we didn't do anything embarrassing, putting a lot of pressure on us. It got so bad that towards the end of the night, when I accidentally bumped into a girl that looked about my age, I tensed up and accidentally squirted my apple juice all over her. She ran off crying, and Mom pulled me away, and the company hasn't hosted a family meeting since..."

Tsuna suddenly felt awkward. Both Chrome and Mukuro were staring at him, not seeming to find the story funny.

"...You aren't making this up, right?" Chrome asked. Tsuna shook his head.

Mukuro was next. "So what did the girl look like?"

"Um..." Tsuna struggled to remember. "It's pretty hard to think about - it's been almost ten years - but I want to say that she had pig tails."

"That went down to her shoulder?" Mukuro pushed.

Tsuna nodded. "And her shoes, too - I remember they had this shiny metal buckle on them, like they were...uh..."

With a sigh, the girl in the hospital bed supplied "Chrome?"

Tsuna nodded again.

The siblings exchanged looks. "I loved that pair of shoes when I was a kid." Chrome said.

"You also wore your hair in pig tails." Mukuro added.

They both looked back at Tsuna.

"You say this was ten years ago?" Mukuro asked, quickly followed by Chrome's "For what company?"

"Vongola...Corp?" Tsuna said hesitantly. "You guys don't seriously think that we three-"

"Met when we still in primary school?" Mukuro finished. "Well, the evidence does seem to be pointing to that."

They all were silent for a moment.

Tsuna leaned back in his seat, mind blown. "So you could say this was almost like fate that brought us together again."

"Closer to a debt being repaid." Mukuro mused. "You, who caused us such trouble that night, is now here trying to help in the recovery of the one you wronged."

Tsuna awkwardly shifted. "Did I really cause you guys trouble?"

"Loads." Mukuro deadpanned. With a disapproving glance at her brother, Chrome shook her head.

"You didn't start anything, Tsuna. Our family has always been...reactive."

Mukuro raised an eyebrow, which nearly went into his hairline when Tsuna shrugged, muttering a noncommittal "Oh."

"What is going on with the two of you?" Mukuro asked. Pointing at Tsuna, he said "You're not the least bit surprised at what Chrome may be implying," he turned his finger on his younger sister, "and you are more then willing to fill him in? What happened to the little girl reading in the back of the room?"

"Blame Tsuna." Chrome winked at the uncomfortable guest, smiling a small smile. "He's the one with the charisma."

Tsuna stuttered. "M-me? No no no no, you've got it wrong. I'm not much of a people person."

"Have you ever tried to be?" Chrome asked. "Have you ever really been yourself?"

Tsuna fidgeted in the seat, muttering something unintelligible. Chrome's smile got just a bit bigger.

"I thought so." she said. Reaching out and patting his knee, she said "You should really try taking a chance. I'm sure you would find a group that respects and cares for you."

"Yeah." Mukuro added slyly. "Hang out with the athletes, study with the geniuses...maybe you could even confess to any crushes you might have."

Tsuna, turning red, opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when Chrome shot her brother a sour look. "Aren't you being supportive?" she said, and Tsuna recoiled at the hint of venom in her voice. "How astonishing."

Losing his smile, Mukuro fired back "The astonishing thing is you even talking to another person. Getting possessive, are we?"

Chrome reared up, ready to respond, but Tsuna jumped out of his chair. "S-stop! Both of you!"

The siblings looked at him in surprise. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Mukuro. "Please stop teasing your sister. She isn't enjoying it anymore, and if you keep doing it, you'll just be bullying." Turning to Chrome, he continued "I'm sorry if you got too embarrassed by the stories Mukuro and I were trading - it was just a bit of fun between older siblings. Neither of us think any less of you. Your brother really does care for you - you're both family."

The Rokudo siblings were looking into their laps, neither saying a word. Tsuna sat back down, breathing another sigh of relief and waiting.

When still no one spoke after the minutes passed, Tsuna decided he'd waited long enough and cleared his throat. "So what was the big deal about Chrome not being social? She seems more then fine with talking to me."

Chrome glanced up at him before looking back down. "You're...special. Different. Normally I'm not like this."

"Why not?" Tsuna asked.

When Chrome didn't say anything, Mukuro spoke up. "The house we grew up in wasn't the best for building bonds of trust and friendship. It's complicated."

The sophisticated teen watched Tsuna carefully. "Do you want to know more?"

Tsuna shifted again. "Ah, well, I am kinda curious but...you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

Mukuro smiled. "I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't ready to tell." He leaned back, exhaling and closing his eyes, getting into a more relaxed position so he could tell his tale.

"Our mother and father were never close. My earliest memory of the two of them is each saying good night to me individually, then going off to separate bedrooms. My father was a workaholic, and whatever time he didn't spend working he spent doting on Chrome, at times completely ignoring Mother. For her part, she was no slouch in keeping the bed cold; always out driving around, or going through Father's papers to make sure he was still doing his best to climb the corporate ladder. I think that was what really started everything - Mother always interfering with Father's work, acting less like a wife and more like a corporate relations manager."

"Our mother had a little sister, only a few years younger then her, named Elena. She was everything my mother wasn't; kind, soft spoken, cunning, charismatic, and as Father once put it, she aged like fine wine. At the time he said that, I thought it was just a simple compliment. It wouldn't be till much later that the truth came to light."

"Truth?" Tsuna asked.

Mukuro nodded. "The truth that Father and Aunt Elena had been carrying on an affair for years. Father never said when it had started, but it had been going on for nearly as long as he'd been married. The night we found out, and Chrome and I fled upstairs to listen to the fight...oh yes, there was a fight, the only time I'd ever heard Mother and Father yell at each other, with Aunt Elena's voice mixed in every once in a while...the night we found out, Chrome and I realized that our house would never be the same. And it wasn't. When we woke up the next morning, and went down to breakfast, Father and Mother ignored each other like they always did, but now there was a tranquil fury hanging in the air. Back then, I'd wished for anything to get rid of that foul environment. Unfortunately, I got exactly what I wanted."

He paused in his account, licking his lips. When he began speaking again, his voice was withdrawn. "Just when Chrome and I were getting ready to enter middle school, a raging fire broke out at one of our vacation cottages. By the time someone had arrived to put it out, it was nearly burned to the ground. They pulled two bodies out of the wreck. Dental records identified them as Father and Aunt Elena."

Tsuna paled. "Oh Mukuro...Chrome..."

"It gets better." Mukuro said. "Evidence pointed to the fires spontaneously starting at both entrances and underneath the windows. Within a minute, any chance of escape had disappeared."

Tsuna's face got white as a sheet. "...Foul play?" he whispered, disbelieving.

"Foul play." Mukuro confirmed, expression neutral.

Tsuna tried to ask "But who...", only to trail off, eyes growing wide. "You don't think..."

Chrome picked up the story. "Within two months of Father's death, Mother was remarrying. To one of Father's aids, no less, who then got Father's spot on the executive board."

"Mother always did love studying Father's work." Mukuro muttered darkly.

"After that," Chrome finished, "Things settled down. Mother took control of the family, steering Brother and I to focus on our studies and leave behind our play, and our friends. Not that many people wanted to go near us once the rumors began circulating. The theories behind Father's death. The explanations about my shyness. All of it was very...unfriendly."

Tsuna stared at Chrome, at a loss for what to say. Sure, his father was away more often then he was at home, but he always was around when one of the kids was having a party, or participating in a school event. And his mom could be a bit of a ditz, but she was like a first responder anytime one of them broke down into tears. And _never _did he see anything but love in their interactions. He just couldn't imagine the animosity that would push someone to act like that.

Chrome noticed his distress and gave him a comforting smile. She sighed, laying down and rolling over. "...I'm feeling tired, boys."

"Alright." Mukuro whispered. "We'll leave you alone. Goodnight."

He stood up, Tsuna soon following, his mind racing to process all the secrets he'd been told.

* * *

The moon was high in the sky, barely helping the lights illuminate his way home. Trudging down his street and around the stone walls that separated house from house, up his lane and through his doorway, Tsuna was greeted home by a loud gaggle coming from the living room.

Sighing and removing his shoes, he yelled into the din "I'm home!", hanging up his jacket and mentally prepping himself for the horror he was about to walk in on.

"TSUNA-NII!"

Two small bodies rounded the corner, slamming into him at what felt like the speed of sound, nearly toppling him over. Regaining his balance, he patted both of them on the head. "Fuuta, I-pin. How were your days?"

Fuuta, whose chin just passed Tsuna's waist, took a step back and smiled. "I beat the test today!"

"Really?" Tsuna said. "Full marks, first one done in the class?"

Fuuta nodded happily.

"That's our little genius." Tsuna ruffled his brown hair again. "So you've done all your homework and are ready to play _Daedly Phiter_ with me?"

Fuuta smiled just a bit bigger, looking away from Tsuna. "Well..."

"I thought so." Tsuna sighed before looking down at I-pin. "And what about you?"

The chinese-looking girl shook her head, still holding onto his leg. The universal sign for _No, I didn't have a good day._

Tsuna got down on his knees, pulling the little girl up to his face, where she stared back with unhappy eyes. "What happened?" He asked.

"...I walked into a pole." I-pin whispered, eyes tearing up.

"Aw." Tsuna gave her a hug, petting her hair. "Well that's not good. But how did you do that? I thought your eye exercises were helping your vision."

I-pin stiffened in his arms. He pulled away, suspiciously asking "You _have_ been keeping up with your eye exercises, haven't you?"

His little sister turned around and crossed her arms, embarrassed. Tsuna sighed again, standing up and walking past Fuuta, who was whistling innocently. When Tsuna wasn't looking, the little genius winked at I-pin, and both children rushed to stand right behind their eldest sibling.

Tsuna had stopped just inside the living room, looking around at the mess: blankets strewn on the ground and throw pillows shoved off of arm rests. Lambo was standing on the couch, jumping up and down as the racecar he drove in the game he played swerved in and out of traffic. Basil and Reborn were standing behind the couch arguing with each other. On the other side of the room, hovering in the kitchen entryway, Sawada Nana looked about worriedly, wondering where to start.

The eldest sibling rolled his neck, plotting his course and preparing to run the gauntlet.

He strode forward, focusing on Basil and Reborn. The older of the two sounded near panic. "Reborn, please stop running around like this!"

The youngest Sawada smiled cheekily, pulling a small fedora over his eyes. "Call me Reborn-_san_, Basil." he ordered with a smooth tone.

"A-ah, yes...Reborn...san..." Basil fumbled for words. "Have you made sure to change out your pet's feeding bowl yet?"

"Leon doesn't eat normal food." Reborn brushed imaginary dust off of his little suit coat. "I'm waiting for him to finish off the paper fan, so he'll memorize how to transform into it."

Tsuna walked up behind the toddler. "He's going to transform into a dead corpse if you don't feed him something real."

"Ah, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn looked up at him dismissively. "I see you finished your training at the hospital. Took you long enough. If you don't pick up the pace, you'll never finish my training and become an awesome mafia-"

Tsuna plucked the fedora from Reborn's head. The little tyke instantly began jumping up and down, whining in a much higher voice "Give that back! It's mine, it's mine! Mom said so, you can't have it!"

"Reborn, stop messing up the house and go take care of Leon." Tsuna ordered.

"No." Reborn pouted, unkempt hair wiggling around.

"If you don't take care of Leon, I'm giving him to Fuuta and Lambo." Tsuna said.

Reborn balked. "But Leon's-"

"Mine." Tsuna interrupted. "If you want him so badly, make sure to feed him properly."

Reborn stared, before glaring at the floor and trudging off. He stopped when Tsuna called out to him. "And Reborn?"

His littlest brother tried to glare him down. "What?" he asked scathingly.

Tsuna tossed the hat like a frisbee, fedora landing next to its' bewildered wearer. "If you prove to me you can take care of Leon all the time, I'll teach you how to tie a necktie."

"...Just like the mafioso?" Reborn asked carefully.

Tsuna smiled. "Just like the mafioso."

With a flourish, Reborn picked up the hat and set it on top his head, smirking. "I've trained you well, student. You'll become a fine boss one day." he said in his smooth voice.

"Uh-huh." Tsuna nodded, watching Reborn crawl up the stairs. His head continued nodding, now in time with the bouncing child in his periphery. As Lambo reached the top of his jump, Tsuna's hand shot out and grabbed him by the afro.

"OWWWWW!" Lambo yelled, dropping the game controller and doing his best to look at Tsuna, little feet kicking. "That hurts!"

"Lambo." Tsuna began patiently. "Do you know how much that couch costs?"

No answer.

"Do you know how much you're destroying it?"

No answer.

"Do you know how much extra work you're creating for Mom by knocking over all these blankets?"

No answer.

"Did you know that if you help keep the house all tidy, and didn't yell and brag and be so exuberant, then instead of cleaning the house when we got home, the others and I might be willing to play multiplayer with you?"

No answer.

Tsuna set Lambo back down, and Lambo grudgingly shut off the game system, picking up a blanket on the floor and doing his best to fold it, sniffing.

"If I play Tsuna, I always lose." he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Who said we'd be fighting?" Tsuna asked. "I was looking for a partner that could help me take down Fuuta and Basil."

Lambo looked up, surprised. "You wanna play co-op? You _never_ play co-op."

"Well," Tsuna picked up a different blanket and began quickly folding it, "I do now. And once we're done eating and cleaning up, we can play."

He set the blanket on one arm of the couch - winking at Lambo, who promptly picked up the pace - moving around it to stare down a different little brother. "Once _all of us_ have done _everything_ we are supposed to."

Fuuta shuffled his feet, smiling sweetly and walking into the living room, I-pin following behind unsteadily. "But I am done."

Tsuna didn't look convinced. "Fuuta. Why not do your homework?"

"Because I already know it all." Fuuta said. "It's boring."

"You could be the top of your class if you just did the homework." Tsuna tried.

"Don't wanna be top." Fuuta shut him down.

"You could look at it as practice for your career." Tsuna tried again. "You'll have busy work to do every day, you know."

Fuuta rolled his eyes, smile growing smaller. "You get paid to do that busy work. What do I get if I do my homework?"

Tsuna crossed his arms, thinking. "How about a new encyclopedia?"

Fuuta's smile dropped. "That's not funny, Nii-chan."

"I'm not kidding." Tsuna said.

The little boy looked confused. "But you don't like my studying."

Tsuna shrugged. "If memorizing random facts is fun for you, who am I to get in your way? We all know who the genius of the family is anyway, so you must be doing something right."

Fuuta also crossed his arms, a calculating expression on his face. "What encyclopedia we talking about here?"

"I have a rich and cultured friend who will be able to dig something up." Tsuna hand waved.

"Will he be able to get a Lexicon Atriale Latino-Latium for me, so that I can brush up on Latin idioms?" Fuuta asked.

Tsuna scratched the back of his head. "...Yeah sure. We'll get...one of those."

"Yes!" Fuuta jumped up and down, running towards the stairs.

"Homework!" Tsuna called after him. Fuuta shouted something unintelligible back. With a sigh, Tsuna slowly sat down, leaning against the couch. He looked to the side, staring lazily at I-pin. "Your brothers are really a handful."

I-pin nodded, looking apprehensive. Tsuna smiled knowingly.

"You know what I'm going to ask you to do?" he asked. I-pin nodded.

"Do you know why I push you to go through with your eye exercises?" he continued. I-pin shook her head.

He patted her head. "Because I know someone whose in the hospital right now, doing her best to recover, so that she can ease the worries of _her_ older brother. I think that she's very strong to go through with all the recovery work that she does. And I want you to do the little exercises now, so that you don't have to go through the kind of therapy she does later in life."

"Is she really strong?" I-pin asked.

Tsuna chuckled. "Oh yeah. She's strong, smart, quick witted, regal, charming...beautiful..."

He coughed. "The point is, she's not the kind of person who looks down on others because they have to go through some exercises. And she wont look down on you because you wear glasses."

"You mean it?" She asked hopefully, nervous that Tsuna was able to cut right down to what was bothering her.

"You don't have to take my word for it." Tsuna said. "If all goes well, you'll meet her in the spring. And I'm sure she'll think you look fabulous in whatever you're wearing."

I-pin blushed. Then, she noticed that Lambo was folding the blankets incorrectly and ran over to show him how it's done right. Tsuna watched the two of them work for a bit before heaving yet another, deeper sigh. He slowly stood up, facing down his most difficult challenge.

Basil stood back, fiddling his fingers and watching events unfold. "Um, Nii-sama, thank you for dealing with Reborn, but are you sure it's wise to teach him how to tie a necktie? He could strangle himself on accident. Or promising Fuuta that fancy encyclopedia?"

Tsuna put his hands down on Basil's shoulders, staring him down. "Basil."

"Yes?"

"Relax."

"But-"

"Da da da." Tsuna interrupted him. "Just take a deep breath." The older brother slowly pulled in air, and when his lungs reached capacity, he slowly let it back out.

The younger brother took in a quick breath and exhaled.

Tsuna shook his head. "Do it again. Longer and slower."

Basil tried to argue. "I don't really see-"

"Just do it!" Tsuna cut him off again. When Basil still looked conflicted, he said louder "Do it! Do it now!"

Slowly, Basil took in a deep breath, letting it calmly stream back out.

"Good." Tsuna smiled. "Now, Basil, please. Relax."

"But you told me that it was my responsibility to look after the little ones." Basil cried, looking near panic.

Tsuna shook his head. "Basil."

"What?" He asked, impatience entering his voice.

"I was seven, and trying to get you out of the room so I could eat your cookie." Tsuna dropped on him. "Don't take my words so seriously."

Basil looked genuinely thunderstruck. "I..."

"Here's what you're gonna do." Tsuna cut him off and nodded to the couch. "You're going to sit down. You're going to drink some juice I'll bring you. You'll play video games till dinner. After eating, you'll play more games with the rest of us. At no point will you ask Dad about the company, or about working, or anything else you might think you have to do. We both know Dad has you pegged as successor anyway. Can you do that for me, Basil?"

Basil slowly nodded, looking uneasy. "I...I think so."

Tsuna guided his little brother over to the couch. Just before he sat down, Basil turned around. "Are you sure that you don't need any-"

"I'm fine, Basil." Tsuna said, pushing his brother onto the couch. "Now stop being responsible and laze about. It's good for you."

Shifting so he wasn't sitting on the newly folded blankets and awkwardly picking up the game controller, Basil began playing the game Lambo had plugged in, squirming under his cow-obsessed siblings' dirty looks.

Tsuna went to stand beside his mother, leaning in the kitchen and observing his handiwork, heaving another tired sigh.

"You've been doing that a lot." She said to him, looking him over worriedly. "Are you tired?"

Tsuna made some quiet hum noise of dissent, still watching events unfold. Lambo and I-pin were just about done cleaning up the living room, and Fuuta and Reborn were in their rooms finishing their chores. Basil was leaning back into the couch, settling in with a small smile on his face.

Nana smiled. "That was impressive." she said.

"It was?" Tsuna asked, turning to face her.

"Uh-huh." Nana chuckled. "Normally you're always so distant with your siblings. This is quite the change."

"I am?" Tsuna straightened up. "I never thought I was."

The knowing look in his mother's eyes made him uncomfortable. But he'd never _felt_ like he was being 'distant' or anything like that. Sure, he told them to go away a lot, but they were so _annoying_ sometimes. He liked his peace and quiet.

Nana didn't say anything more about the subject, looking back into the living room. "Well, I like this new attitude in you. It's much more grown-up. Now if only there was a way you could get Bianchi down here to help me set up the table-"

"BIANCHI!" Tsuna yelled at the top of his lungs, startling everyone. "IF YOU DON'T COME DOWN HERE NOW LAMBO AND I WILL EAT YOUR FOOD!"

The entire house was silenced by his outburst. Faintly, Tsuna and Nana could hear the few thumps and rumbles upstairs. Bianchi the houseguest appeared at the top of the stairs, stumbling down and sliding to a halt, red hair frizzled.

"I'm here, I'm here." she said, immediately locating Lambo and glaring at him, who glared right back and stuck his tongue out.

Nana looked between Bianchi and Tsuna with awe. "Well aren't you the people person today?"

Ignoring the well timed echo, Tsuna nodded to the table. "Let's just hope Dad gets home soon so we can eat."

* * *

Tsuna leaned back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling as Reborn snored in the hammock on the other side of the room. By now everyone else had gone to bed, but he couldn't rest. He was still mulling over what his mother had said to him before dinner.

"People person?" The teen muttered to himself. Of all the phrases his mother could have picked, it had to be the same one he'd used when talking to Chrome.

_Chrome..._

She'd thought he was a people person too. _Charismatic_, she'd said. If it had been anyone else but her, Tsuna probably would have just ignored them. But Chrome was different. She held a place in his heart that made his palms sweat when he was near her, and feel lighter then air when she looked at him. And he knew exactly what the symptoms he had meant - Tsuna had been through this before. Which didn't make it any easier to swallow.

But he was handling it much better then he had with Kyoko, and that's what confused him. He could look Chrome in the eye, he didn't stutter too badly when she talked to him, and he didn't feel like curling into a ball and hiding underneath the chair when he said something embarrassing.

Tsuna had called his 'Grandpa' after dinner in secret, looking for advice. After describing the problem, the old man had just laughed.

"_That's called growing up, Tsunayoshi-kun. You've matured is all. It's not bad, you're just thinking more like an adult."_

Tsuna had never thought about it that way. He'd never really considered that he might be maturing. His whole life had felt like the slow drip of sap out of a tree: years had passed, but everything was still the same as it was when he first started school. Always being picked on, being last, going into higher grades with the same people, chasing after the same girl...how does someone mature if nothing around them changed?

_But something did change_, he thought with a bit of sadness. _I met Chrome_.

If his life had changed at all, it was because of Chrome. Chrome tutored him, Chrome pushed him, Chrome inspired him. The better grades, the confidence, the bonds with his siblings. All of it was because of her. And her accident.

It was a question he'd heard tossed around many times. _Why do bad things happen to good people?_ Tsuna had an answer, but he felt guilty and selfish thinking it. To even suppose that Chrome had been put through so much pain and suffering to help him grow.

He still had nightmares about the day of the accident. Seeing Chrome out of the corner of his eye dart toward the street, and wondering if he could have done something to stop her. The moments kept playing through his head as _she left his vision, the smell of burning rubber reaching his nose as he caught a glimpse of the sliver car between the branches-_

Tsuna rocketed out of bed, nerves shot, rushing downstairs and grabbing his shoes. He was out the door and pacing in the street before anyone else in the house had time to wonder what all the noise was about.

His shoes slapped against the ground, the noise reverberating in his skull as his brain made connections without him wanting it to. The car he caught a glimpse of that may or may not have been silver. Silver, the color of the car that according to Mukuro, Chrome's mother drove. The same car she had crashed and then had repaired.

Tsuna stopped, leaning against a stone wall and catching his breath. He remembered Mukuro telling him about their mother's sudden change in personality after Chrome's accident - _or was it her survival?_ - and the way he described the strange coincidences in their father and aunt's deaths...

The winded teen slid to the ground. "Not an accident." he muttered. "Not an accident. Foul play."

* * *

Tsuna knocked on Chrome's door, entering when he heard the customary "Come in." from her. He stopped in the entryway, forcing a smile. "Hey, you're up!"

From her open window, the patient smiled back at him. "Hello."

Flicking on a light, Tsuna stepped in. "Physical therapy is finally starting to pay off." He slung his bag under a chair and joined her. "Any strange pains?"

"My stomach, sometimes." Chrome admitted. "Especially after I've eaten. The nurses have to be very careful with how much food I'm..." she trailed off.

Tsuna was staring blankly, like he was looking right through her. She waved her hand in front of his face a few times, causing him to jump with a start.

"Sorry, sorry." He said quickly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Zoned out a bit. What were you saying about food? Does it taste any good here?"

She ignored the questions, scrutinizing him worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Tsuna laughed awkwardly, turning to look out over the hospital garden. "It's kind of ironic that _you_ would ask _me_ that, considering you're in the hospital and all..."

"Tsuna." Chrome said firmly, causing him to flinch. She wasn't going to let him divert the issue. "What's wrong?"

The high schooler kept looking out at the trees and rose bushes, resting against the window frame and letting the breeze flow around his face. Knowing he wasn't going to answer, Chrome rose an unsteady hand, touching his shoulder.

He glanced at her hand, then her eye - searching him, picking up instantly that his mind was elsewhere, knowing he was bothered. He sighed dejectedly.

"I'm just...worrying about you." Tsuna mumbled.

He felt the heat crawl up his face, faking a cough when Chrome's reaction was only to raise one eyebrow. He tried to say something else, but nothing came out. All hope of salvaging the situation was lost when she reached out with one finger and traced a line across his face.

"You're blushing." she said matter-of-factly. Tsuna shrunk in place a little, the sheer embarrassment catching up to him.

"It's okay." she whispered supportively, the hint of a smile in her voice. "I'm blushing too."

Tsuna hung his head dejectedly, turning around and leaning against the wall, sliding down it till he was sitting with his knees up by his face. For some reason, seeing Chrome recovering and happier, the vitality coming back, made him even more worried that it all could be snuffed out at any time.

* * *

Chrome wanted to twiddle around Tsuna like a concerned humming bird, but she didn't know how to do it without seeming intrusive, so she just stood next to him as he spiraled deeper into sadness.

She _really_ hoped it wasn't her teasing. The petty part of her considered it pay back for the game he and Mukuro had played, but mostly she was just happy to see him get flustered over her.

In order to know when not to disturb their mother, she and her brother done some light reading into micro-expressions: the science of reading the twitches of the face to interpret emotion. He had thought it interesting, but hadn't studied it as hard as Chrome had. It seemed so fascinating to her, that in only a few years she had gotten very good at picking up on people's expressions and gestures, and what they meant. Brother had even called her a natural at it.

Chrome could guess how people were feeling easily when discussing theory- the trouble was handling the emotions herself. Oftentimes, Chrome would make mistakes in reading body language because her own feelings would interfere. It hindered her badly enough that she had trouble passing most speed tests. So when Tsuna stopped meeting her eye and began speaking quieter when complimenting her, she fought the urge to jump to the conclusion she wanted, and instead did a little experiment to see if her guess was correct.

Venting some of her own happy tension was a bonus.

But when he seemed to react negatively to her advance, Chrome wondered if she'd been wrong again, and what she'd thought were subtle hints of attraction were instead signals of forced politeness.

She wanted to find out, but now she was worried how to start a conversation without pushing him further away. He seemed ready to close up as it was, so she didn't want to say something that caused him to inadvertently shut down.

Chrome had begun pulling back into her own thoughts, so wasn't ready when Tsuna abruptly asked "What are you going to do after you get out of here?"

Not wanting to make the delicate situation worse, Chrome tried to word her response as neutrally as possible. "I hadn't really thought about it..."

Bad answer. Tsuna tightened up more, voice going flat. "I see. That's sad."

Chrome bit her lip, looking quickly between the door and Tsuna before heading over and glancing around outside. Not seeing Mukuro anywhere nearby, she shut the door and just as quickly headed back to the window, sitting down next to the clammed up teenager.

Tsuna had watched her move around the room, and now looked at her, about to ask a question. Chrome cut him off with a look. He closed his mouth and shifted, listening attentively.

"It's not so different from normal." she started. "I'm actually used to it. Remember I told you how I felt trapped here?" When he nodded, she continued "That's bad, but not much worse from my life before I came to this place. Mother has always tried to restrict what I do. It just never became apparent until I was older."

Chrome sighed, softly hitting her head against the wall. "When I was a young girl, I wanted to do so many things. My desires changed with the wind. I saw a documentary about abused animals, and I wanted to be a veterinarian. I glanced at an anime Brother was watching about space pirates, and I wanted to be an astronaut. I heard some foreign music Father had found overseas, and I wanted to learn to play the guitar so I could join a band. My childhood was very whimsical, and that made my mother so upset with me. She would always come over when I started playing too loudly and tell me to do some other, more ladylike thing - and if I asked, she never let me try anything new."

Tsuna gulped. "That sounds...horrible."

The girl shrugged. "When I was little, it actually kind of backfired. When my mom would find me in the garden, strumming a big stick like a guitar, she would confine me to my room so I would play with my dolls instead - but that just made me more interested in learning to act and play make believe, which would cause me to want to write stories and be a best selling author, which made Mother push me to learn to play the piano, which made _me_ change views and want to become a touring pianist."

Chrome rolled her eye to the ceiling. "I nearly drove my mother insane, what with the way I never stopped jumping from interest to interest, always wanting to try something new and make that my life."

"What did she want you to ever do with your life?" Tsuna asked. Chrome shrugged again.

"Become a pretty doll." she guessed. "And she did a very good job of making me one."

Her eye stared at nothing, glazing over and looking just a bit pained. It was a look Tsuna hadn't seen from her in a long time.

"Father spoiled me." Chrome recalled. "For every time Mother tried to push me to do something different and refined, Father congratulated me on my wilder pursuits. Which wasn't to say he was relaxed: at times Father was even harsher then Mother when it came to public etiquette. But when we were at home, he let me do whatever I wanted. And maybe it was shallow and he could have been a better parent and I could have been a better child, but I loved him all the same. His death..."

Chrome shook her head, pulling her knees up to her chin the same way Tsuna was sitting. "I knew he loved me, even if his way of showing it was strained. He wasn't good at giving comforting hugs, or whispering stories in my ear to help me sleep, and maids attended to me when I was sick...but if I was ever really down, Daddy would meet me in the parlor with a bar of chocolate and a new stuffed animal, and we'd spend a while by the fire. Then he went up in smoke, and that all went with him."

She smirked bitterly. "Brother would call me foolish for ever thinking it, but there were a few hours after the arson that I hoped Mother would be just as comforting."

The bit of contempt in her voice led Tsuna to guess the answer, but he asked anyway, making note of the name change. "And did she comfort you, after your Dad's death?"

Chrome closed her eye. "No. No, she didn't." was her emotionless reply. "But she did push me to focus on my studies, and not my hair or my phone or my friends or anything outside the mansion. She drew up a schedule for every minute of the day, making sure that I didn't waste any time. So I studied, and I practiced, and I studied some more, and all the while Mother was at my shoulder, whispering about how much faster Brother was at everything, and how I'd wasted my childhood, and that I'd never be good enough to live up to Father's name-"

She stopped, throat tightening. "...That one always got to me."

Wrestling her emotions under control, she looked at Tsuna. "You probably think I'm just a rich girl whining about my privilege, don't you? 'Look at her, born with such chances. She's never going to have to worry about anything.' I've heard people whisper about it before."

Tsuna shook his head vehemently, looking offended. "I would never think something like that about you!"

"Uh-huh." Chrome looked back at the ceiling, eye shutting again. "Okay, Tsuna."

"It's true!" he pressed. "In fact, I think that most of your chances are being kept from you! But..."

Tsuna suddenly became unsure of himself. "...But you've still got things you could do, right? It's not like your mom has everything in your future planned out for you. You should still be thinking about what you could do once you get out." he said halfheartedly, staring into his knees once more.

Chrome's voice, now tired, pierced through his flimsy assertions. "You aren't understanding. It doesn't matter if Mother doesn't have everything set up right this moment. Ever since Father passed on and she became the dominating force of my life, I have been herded wherever she wanted. If I get something or go somewhere or do whatever I want, it's because she allowed it. If I have to join a club or do some work, it's because she pushed for it. I'm in a dark tunnel with no light, not even the sparks of a broken lighter, to guide me - just her rope around my neck, pulling me where she wants. A prize stallion with its' gaze forced forward. No carrots for me."

Looking down at her body, so well put back together, she mused "I wonder why she hasn't just had me killed?"

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she missed Tsuna's flinch.

Chrome quietly sighed, resting her head on her hands. "...You're the first person I've ever told my feelings to. Not even Brother knows."

She began absently drawing patterns on the floor with her finger. Tsuna watched her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed so lost...

Chrome's ears perked when she heard a whisper. She glanced at Tsuna, but he hadn't changed position, still leaning against the wall with his head resting on his arms. The young woman leaned in to try and make out what he was saying.

Tsuna mumbled something. Chrome leaned a bit closer, curious. "What was that?"

"GOD DAMNIT!" He yelled, shooting to his feet, Chrome leaning back quickly to avoid being hit in the face. She watched worriedly as he began pacing furiously, like a lion whose had one too many pieces of bubble gum thrown in his mane.

"You shouldn't have to live like this!" He seethed. "You have done NOTHING to deserve this kind of treatment. In all the months I've known you, you have not ONCE been anything but caring, thoughtful, smart, amazing...you deserve to be showered with everything you need, not tossed about like unwanted pillows!"

Chrome hesitantly rose a hand, as if that would somehow cause him to stand still. "But-"

"NO BUTS!" He rounded on her, eyes alive with pain and passion and raw fury. "Everyone - from the prime minister to the homeless man that begs for change around the corner of my house - EVERYONE deserves a chance. No one on this planet has any right to choose for _someone else_ if they get the chance to succeed. If you're alive, then you should be allowed TO LIVE!"

Turning away from her, he added. "There are no exceptions. There is no greater part of nature. A wolf does not hamstring its' own cub so it doesn't have to feed it. A bird doesn't only give its' chick one bite and then eat the rest of the food for itself. Even Neanderthals - _cavemen_, Chrome - took care of their sick and disabled. And no human, _not one_, is allowed to keep you from trying to live your life the way you want to."

He approached the wall beside her bed, unknowingly putting his feet right where she'd tried to escape from her mother so long ago. His hand came up in a blur, and Chrome jumped, gasping when he punched the wall with all his strength, putting his fist right through it. She rushed over. "What are you doing?"

Tsuna didn't answer right away. Slowly, he pulled his fist out. When it caught on a piece of the drywall and a patch of skin was torn off from between the knuckles, the only proof he felt any pain was his jaw muscles tightening.

When he was out, he let his arm hang at his side. Chrome grabbed it, careful not to touch anything that might be damaged. She tried to examine his palm and fingers, but his hand wouldn't leave the fist. "Can you relax, please?" She asked.

Tsuna looked at her. His earlier doubt, confusion, and sadness were gone from his gaze. He was in control. He used his free hand to grab hers, stacking them up on top of his fist, making sure they couldn't escape from between his. It almost looked like he was praying.

"Chrome." he whispered. "I'm sorry it took me so long to realize. I think you'll understand when I say that I've spent my whole life standing still. I never saw a reason to move forward. I'd found that reason when I met you, but I didn't understand it. Not really. I thought it was enough if I showed up, said hi, studied with you and Mukuro...but it isn't. I never realized that it wasn't just about changing the motions, it was about really looking at myself. I've spent so much time staring at you, and thinking about how wonderful you are, that I never really got around to worrying about how _I_ could improve. Really, I'm still hiding where it's safe, not moving forward."

Tsuna took the hand on top of hers, and put it to her cheek. This time there was no blush from him. "Since last night I've been asking myself 'What can I do to save her?' I was panicking, putting my head in the sand and screaming, secretly hoping that someone else would take away the problems. But now I know. It's not 'What can I do', it's 'I am going to'. No more running. No more hiding. No more screaming. I need to take my first step forward, and change myself."

His hand slid from her cheek, around to the back of her neck. He pulled her close, resting her forehead against hers, smiling tenderly.

"I'm going to save you."

Chrome looked into his eyes questioningly. "From what?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

They both sprang apart and snapped their heads to the door, Tsuna flattening himself against the wall as much as possible. Mukuro leaned against the doorframe, eyeing the other male cooly.

"I'm assuming you have an explanation for coming into such close..." Mukuro twitched, "proximity...with my sister?"

"Mukuro!" Tsuna gasped, smiling weakly. "There's a good reason for this."

"I hope so." Mukuro said, adding ominously "I do dislike burying close acquaintances such as yourself."

Tsuna frowned, coming off the wall and holding Mukuro's stare. "Seriously though. There's something I think I need to tell the both of you." Thinking for a moment, he added "And I need to talk to you about an encyclopedia."

* * *

Chrome sat in her bed, staring at the wall blankly. Tsuna sat in his chair by her head, looking worriedly between her, the door, and Mukuro; who was standing by the foot of his sister's bed, reading something on his phone before clicking it off.

"She's here." He warned, sharing a look with Tsuna. Both men glanced at Chrome, but she didn't even twitch. Shrugging at his friend in the chair, Mukuro turned back to the door, watching.

The three waited in silence for minutes. No one else was walking the hospital halls, so they could easily here the telltale clicking of high heels.

Mukuro began unconsciously glaring at the door, while Chrome closed her eye. Tsuna whispered to the both of them "Careful. We don't have any evidence..."

"Which is the only reason she's not in a lightless hole." Mukuro whispered venomously. "And the only reason this conversation is even happening."

Tsuna didn't have any reply to that, so he stayed quiet and looked to the door. The handle turned, it swung open, and the Rokudo matriarch swept in. She looked over the three teens, a small sneer appearing on her face when her gaze fell on Chrome.

Focusing back on Mukuro, she asked haughtily "What was so important that my presence was immediately required?"

"You've been jumpy lately, Mother." He replied. "Is there any specific reason for that?"

"None that concern you." She said. "Now why am I here?"

"Does it have to do with your car?" He asked, ignoring her question. "I know you got into a bit of a fender bender some months ago. One that caused such damage that your car needed to be repaired. How did you crash that has caused you such...anxiety?"

Their mother looked him over carefully. "...Some _idiot_ collided with it." She said suspiciously. "What is this about?"

"Your strange habits, of course." Mukuro said. "I wonder if this anxiety of yours is the reason you had to pay a single private mechanic to come to our home and repair your car, rather then taking it to a _public_ garage, out in the open where many people will be able to see and inspect it."

Their mother stiffened. "How did you know about the mechanic?"

"Some of us pay attention to our surroundings." Tsuna said, grabbing her attention yet not meeting her gaze, keeping his eyes closed and his head hung.

"I know I did, when I first met Chrome." he continued. "I saw everything that day. And I'll probably never forget a single thing I saw. _Nothing_. Not the color of the clothes Chrome was wearing or the smell of the blood on the streets. Not even the glimpse of the car I saw right before it hit Chrome. That silver car."

"What of it?" The Rokudo matriarch asked sharply. Tsuna raised his head, finally looking at her.

"I've been told the car you drive is silver."

She said nothing in response.

Chrome finally spoke up. "That night you came to visit me, near the end of Tsuna's lack of visits. When no one else was around, and you made sure to shut the door and stop me from contacting anyone. You'd come to hurt me, hadn't you?"

Turning her gaze on her mother, Chrome stared her down, somehow looking kept together and aloof while holding back tears, all of that mixing in with her accusatory tone to make her voice thick with emotion. "You've been trying to kill me for months now, right? You tried to run me down. You've been trying to get me alone ever since I came into the hospital. You want me gone."

Her fists balled in the sheets. "Why? Why do you hate me so much? What have I ever done?"

The entire time Chrome had been speaking, her mother had been watching Tsuna. When her daughter finished talking, her shoulders shook. Finally, she smiled cruelly, laughing and turning to Chrome.

"What did you do?" she asked. "What _haven't_ you done?"

She shook her head. "I don't know which is funnier, the way you fumble along your life without a clue, or the way everyone comes to defend your stupidity. Either way, it's gotten on my nerves ever since you were born. From the moment you could walk, you just did what you wanted instead of what you needed to do to succeed. Always in the dirt or with animals. Keeping your head in the clouds rather then focusing on studying and growing up. Your father encouraged this irresponsible behavior. Your brother continues to foster these thoughts in you."

Her eyes narrowed. "And my sister only added to the whimsical climate you so cherished. The result? Now you're unprepared for the world. You are only slightly above average in grades. You have made no connections. The faculty at your school has not recommended you go to any specialty training or prestigious universities. And you are so used to bouncing between cheap entertainments that you have no idea where you wish to take your life. If not for me, you would have rotted in a ditch years ago."

"And then you have the audacity to accuse me of attempted murder?" The Rokudeo matriarch's voice rose. "I have tried to cultivate you into something worthwhile, and been scorned for it. _I_ have suffered because of all of you. _Because of you!_" She pointed a shaking finger at Chrome.

"Why must I keep protecting you?" she muttered, staring Chrome down, causing her and Tsuna to stiffen. "You've brought me nothing but trouble. I haven't deserved any of this. Not one bit, yet every morning I wake up and see your face, which reminds me of..."

She stopped, coming to her senses.

"...Which reminds me of everything I detest." she said hurriedly. Tsuna and Mukuro took note of the rush in her voice. _She changed what she was going to say_.

"And in the end, all of my efforts have come to nothing." she spat, suddenly looking haggard. "I hope you've enjoyed this little vacation you've had, _girl_, because I doubt you'll make it long back out in the world."

Looking at Mukuro, she asked "Is this interrogation over? Or are you going to drum up some more circumstantial and improbable evidence?"

Mukuro held her gaze. "Please, leave. You've done quite enough."

The words were barely out of his mouth before their mother was at the door, about to leave. She paused, throwing over her shoulder "And do be careful, _girl_, the next time you go out on your own. If you don't, you may very well find yourself in another _accident_."

Then she left, leaving behind a sense of bitter confirmation.

Tsuna had told the two of them his ideas the day before yesterday. He had expected them to be initially disbelieving, but Chrome hadn't said anything, and Mukuro was quick to accept Tsuna's theory - he'd had the same one ever since the accident, and had contacted private investigators to try and find evidence. What he'd found had only made his suspicions grow: A private mechanic coming to their house from towns away and being paid very high amounts for "labor". However, he hadn't been able to find any solid evidence, so Mukuro hatched a plan.

If they could drag the Rokudo matriarch away from her comfort zone and push her, they may be able to get a confession, or at least a hint on where to look next. They'd all known it was a long shot, but Chrome wasn't objecting and Tsuna was ready to do anything, so they went ahead with Mukuro's plan.

But it had failed. She had caught on too quickly and turned the conversation away from what they really needed to know more about - Chrome's accident. The most they could make out of what they had was that their mother had motive. However, as Mukuro checked his phone one last time before shaking his head, he knew that a drunk monkey could have figured that out. Now they were stuck with no lead, and their target alerted.

Tsuna looked from sibling to sibling. Mukuro was pacing in small circles, glaring at thin air and tapping his thumb against his elbow, his thoughts probably following the same path. Chrome was still, hands still balled up in her sheets and breathing too evenly for it to be natural.

Sighing, he stood up, walking over to Mukuro and tapping him on the shoulder. "There's nothing more we can do right now." he whispered. "Let's go home and get some rest."

Mukuro stared at him incredulously as the brunette dug around in his pockets. "Have you gone insane?" he asked the spiky haired teenager. "Are you suggesting we simply give up now?"

"I'm not saying we're giving up." Tsuna said, pulling two items out. "I'm saying we can't do anything more _right now_."

He motioned to the door before turning and moving next to Chrome's bed.

Tsuna took what he'd pulled out of his pockets, and slipped it into her hands. He made sure she was holding on with both, looking at her meaningfully. Chrome searched him, wondering what she was holding.

With a final smile, Tsuna let go, heading to the door. Mukuro took a quick glance just as Chrome opened her hands. Confused, the older brother quickly followed the exiting guest.

"What was that?" he asked suspiciously, coming up alongside Tsuna.

With a sad smile, he shook his head. "She's strong, even if she may not quite understand just how strong. She'll make it through these trials, just like she always has. I'm not going to count her out yet. In fact, I plan to be right there by her side, helping in any way I can."

Mukuro rose an eyebrow skeptically. "Well, you will have to send me the details of your plan soon. I will not be counted out."

Tsuna winked at him, walking out of the hospital. He stopped after the doors slid shut behind him, nodding to Mukuro as the older teen walked away. The young adult looked up at the stars, wondering if anyone was looking down into his world.

He slowly smiled.

"Yeah." he spoke. "Yeah, you'll understand."

* * *

Chrome smiled, only a few tears leaking out of her eye, her hand slowly curling around the chocolate bar and small lighter that they held.

She could take this. Definitely. Because she wasn't alone anymore, she would take this. For them, and for her.

She looked up at the door, talking to herself. "Shall we begin?"

* * *

_**Shick...shick...these sparks will never** **stop...**_

* * *

**And that brings part 3 to a close. Part 4 is the climax, the finale, the wrap up. No idea when it will be finished, but I hope to have it up soon, if that's any consolation.**

**Until then, be safe, and I hope those of you that may be returning to your studies soon - if you haven't already begun - find them easier then expected and aren't overwhelmed. **


End file.
